joyofthejourney

With a Word

James 1:16-27 (Watch the video here.) With a word, our lives changed: coronavirus. With a lack of words, our world shrinks in size. With a dearth of words, our souls ache with hunger; if only we could listen, watch, think, scroll, read our way to satiation. We thirst for words. Immersed in an ocean, weContinue reading “With a Word”

An Orientation to Transformation

James 2:1-10, 14-17 (Watch sermon here.) James writes, “My siblings, your faith in our glorious Savior Jesus Christ must not allow favoritism.” Do you play favorites? How do you know when you are playing favorites? Hm. At the core of our faith, Jesus provides an orientation to a life of transformation. Jesus begins this orientationContinue reading “An Orientation to Transformation”

The Art of Conversation

James 3:1-12 (Watch sermon here.) Our passage today is a snippet of a letter. I am going to continue reading it, so you hear how James emphasizes wisdom after speaking of the dangers of speaking. James writes, “Are any of you wise and understanding? Show that your actions are good with a humble lifestyle thatContinue reading “The Art of Conversation”

The Dream of Friendship

Friendship meets me in the parking lot. We wear the same shirts:VEGAN POWER 50K25k.Shirts from our race together. Friendship taught me that I was born to run. All he did was loan me a book: Born to Run. After reading it, I believed that I could run ultra-marathons. I started with that Vegan Power 25kContinue reading “The Dream of Friendship”

My 36th Birthday

For my 36th birthday, my friend wrote me a song to celebrate the Arnold Arboretum. The song captures for me the stirrings that happened within me as I walked the arboretum this year. To see those stirrings in pictures, check out my Flickr account (here). Heart and Soul (Tune: Fields of Gold) Take a walkContinue reading “My 36th Birthday”

Glimpses of the Presidential Traverse

3:05 a.m. My alarm sounds. Groggily, I open my eyes to the darkness. 3:45 a.m. Packs on, we stream out the door. 4:31 a.m. Other hikers linger at the lot. We step out, turn our headlamps on, and plow up the Valley Way. 4:31 a.m. – 7 a.m. Silently, we step upthe well-set stonesas nightContinue reading “Glimpses of the Presidential Traverse”

Nothing Going On: A Pandemic Prayer

Mark 1:9-15 Desert Storks-Bill:A flower in the Judean desert,which opens in the morning,for hours decorating bare slopesand dropping petals before noon. Attuned to the weather,this perennial plant producesstorage sacs – or tubers – on its roots,so it can flower in rainy years,and remain underground in dry years. In the forty days that Jesus trekked theContinue reading “Nothing Going On: A Pandemic Prayer”

The Heart of Endurance: The Ice Cliffs of Cliff Mountain

Every year, I receive a star word that helps me making meaning out of my year. [1] This year, my star word was endurance. On what turned out to be a terrible hike up Cliff Mountain, life-saving endurance came in the form of love. On January 20, the night before Matthew and I hiked CliffContinue reading “The Heart of Endurance: The Ice Cliffs of Cliff Mountain”

Life in Winter (3 of 3)

“I want to find the pecan tree,” I tell C, “even if we cannot find it today. I read that one lives among the hickories.” That desire leads us to the hickory stand. After finishing our ice cream, we resisted the temptation of the restaurant selling ramen and trekked straight down Centre Street back intoContinue reading “Life in Winter (3 of 3)”

Life in Winter (2 of 3)

We shift our goal to obtaining ice cream. Crossing heavy traffic, C and I dutifully make our way to J.P. Licks. After intense deliberation, I order two scoops of dairy-free peanut butter lace covered by a shot of decaf expresso. C orders a sundae with hot fudge over bourbon praline fig ice cream. Outside, weContinue reading “Life in Winter (2 of 3)”