Storm Chasers

FLAGSTAFF, AZ. Someday when my hands are trembling so that I can’t even manage to wipe the drool off my chin, and I am left alone with nothing but my memories, I will know that my life moved no further than the summation of my dreams.   My life’s work has given me a chance …

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Onward Christian Artist, Going as to War

Calling All Creatives! Calling All Creatives! We Need You! While riding my mountain bike a few weeks ago, I took a tumble and shattered my collarbone into five pieces.  A group of villagers carried me to my house, where I was helped into the passenger seat of my car. I asked someone, “Can you tell …

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Let Slip the Dogs of Art

  Re-thinking Creativity and Ministry   In the season when kings mounted swift stallions, unsheathed gilded swords and went to war, one king called in sick. Following a massage and a hot bath, he stretched himself across fluffy white, goose down pillows. His mind began to whimsically drift away from the fierce battles raging outside. His thoughts …

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Do You Know TRUE LOVE When You See It?

“This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”   I John 3:16   For centuries, the people living in villages clustered along the south coast of Java have lived in terror of Nyai Loro Kidul, the …

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Gifts of the Spirit ACTIVATED

I LOVE IT WHEN CHURCHES send short term workers here to Southeast Asia. It’s our chance to serve those in America who have sacrificed for us to be here. We are committed to giving the folks back home a life-changing glimpse of the world beyond America’s borders. Over the years, we’ve seen some Spirited teams, and one group stands out in recent memory.

Transforming Worship

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN EMBARRASSED to hear yourself laughing exactly like a good friend laughs? Our voices often imitate someone we love and admire. This is because God has created us, his image bearers, to adopt the mannerisms of the objects of our worship. The Creator designed us to be worshiping beings. We simply can’t

How to Live Before You Die

THIS WEEK OVER FOUR HUNDRED children and youth from around our city converged on our school Charis. And so, a new academic year begins. Over 400 stories being created in the fusion of our CREATOR, his creativity, and his creation. Every sentence spoken, every kick of a ball, every conversation, and warm greeting another stroke of holy ink scrolled across the Creator’s canvas.

Let Me Tell You a Story

From the time my children were very small, they begged me to tell stories. No matter what story I conjured up, nor how improbable the events in my stories, Katie, Josiah and Stephen were enraptured. My stories rarely had much of a plot. They went nowhere. They were created spontaneously. But my kids clung to every word. Why?

How to Skip Stones

By Paul Richardson
To me, wine tastes about as delicious as gasoline. Yet, having been a waiter for six years, I understand the wine drinking ethos. Most folks who order a glass of wine with dinner are simply casual wine drinkers. Their motivation is to impress their dinner companions, and they really don’t have a clue as to whether they are drinking something exquisite or worthless.
Some rare people, though, don’t just casually drink wine. They are actual connoisseurs. Now, I must point out that you should not be allowed to say the word connoisseur unless you can pronounce it with a French accent, which counts me out. Wine snobs … I mean, connoisseurs, don’t just put wine in their mouths and guzzle it down like a dog standing over its dish. For wine connoisseurs, drinking wine is really more of an experience.
Skipping stones is sort of like this.

ACCELERATE your MOTIVATION (without coffee)

Have you ever forced your eyes open on a Monday morning and dreaded the thought of getting out of bed?   I sure have.   On some days we feel invigorated and activated; on other days we have little desire to do anything. For many parents, getting our children to practice the piano or finish …

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