Stacking Stones

Remembering to Remember: 2013 Retrospective

2018-01-16T15:28:36+00:00By Joel|Perseverance, Stacking Stones|

Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, but every once in a while the 'waiting on the Lord' soars us up on eagle's wings and let's us see the forest for all it is. I need this sweater. Somehow this Arizona boy ended up in Minnesota. And I think the ultimate testimony of truly living in a cold place is that you watch the first 36 minutes of Star Wars Episode V as a how-to manual for your morning. (Well, it's testimony to the cold and to being a bit of a geek) As I venture out into the ice planet of Hoth that I live in, I make my way to my [...]

My Beloved: Stacking Stones Part VIII

2014-08-18T22:34:45+00:00By Joel|love and marriage, Stacking Stones|

So, the twelfth stone on top of this Joshua 4 monument is a person, and that person is my wife. The last season on life and ministry would not have been what it was, and is, without her. I've learned so much about love and courage from her.I remember being a twenty-something mountain boy, staring up at the stars, contemplating that the starry sky, so unfathomable and huge, full of granduer, mystery, and stillness, was a similar display to the starry show that Abraham watched as G-d said, "Count them if you can...so shall your offspring be" (paraphrased Gen 15:5). And to think that (as the Rich Mullins song put it), "one star he saw had [...]

Who Am I? : Stacking Stones Part VII

2014-08-18T22:34:45+00:00By Joel|memories, Stacking Stones|

Who am I? Sounds like a loaded question. And depending on the day you might get a different answer. Yes, I am Joel. I want to be more Jesus than me. But usually I'm me. I used to think that my 20's were all about figuring who I am. Mostly, I found out who I'm not. Sometimes it was positive, sometimes it was not. I learned that I fell short of my ideals 98% of the time, during the other 2% I was just confused. Blessedly clueless. My eleventh stone in my Josh 4 monument is not that I figured out who I am. I've given up on that one. In my efforts to serve others [...]

Whispers of sovereignty: Stacking Stones Part V

2014-08-18T22:34:45+00:00By Joel|Abandonment, Jesus Christ, nature, prayer, Stacking Stones|

Today I've been sitting outside quite a bit (praying, working on my computer, thinking, etc), and I decided that one 'stone' in my Josh 4 memorial is nature. Not just generalized - nature as a concept - nature, but those moments when I get to commune with God. God often speaks to me through nature...not like a 'being one with nature kind of way,' but rather, nature being a sanctuary where my heart and mind can be still, and where I can pause and experience a 'come Lord Jesus' moment (being one with my Creator). God speaks loudly to me in the quiet (which may be paradoxical when put like that), that is, He speaks powerfully [...]