I have to tell you what happened…

I feel I need to tell you guys why I've been gone, and why I probably won't be posting any more in 'edgingdeadness.' Almost 3 months ago, our 20 year old daughter was murdered in a mass shooting. This is the kind of thing that most of us have always looked at and thought that …

The Baby in my Bathwater?

It seems that, in my fickle pursuit of faithfulness, I had attempted to purge myself of some things that were UN-desirable, which in itself may not sound bad, but inadvertently I may have also thrown out some things that WERE desirable. I may have "thrown out the baby with the bathwater." Perhaps, there are many …

On a Road to Destruction

Let me just say, I can't help but thank God for his great and inexhaustible Mercy in my life. I haven't deserved any of His Grace! When my alarm woke me this morning, I was apparently thinking about a specific incident that happened when I was a young man, which may have, even should have, …

The Tongue, and A Fool’s Lips

I write here in edgingdeadness, mostly about the things that hang me up in my spiritual growth. I imagine some things are rather universal or common, and I'm led to believe that some of these things are apparently unique to me. Either way, these things that trip me up are usually aspects of "the old …

Setup to Fail? Really, God?

I know God has done a lot for me, more than I'll ever know. And I know he's done a lot IN me, more than I could ever say here. But somehow, part of it comes down to ME doing more. Part of it comes down to ME taking responsibility for some of my own …

Reflections in the Crowd

Okay, I admit right up front that this piece started as a rant, a blowing off of steam, a list of the things other people do that rub me the wrong way. It's the things I would change about people as I watch the world go by. It's not that I hate everyone I come …

Free Indeed: Part Deux, It’s NOT multiple choice!

My last post, Free Indeed, was triggered by the 4th of July celebration and was about the "Freedom Of Choice" we get from God. I remember my dad told me that he had an actual Model T Ford when he was a kid. In the late 1930's they were just old hand-me-down junkers, not the antiques …

Free Indeed

Jesus died so that we, all people, could be free. And with this freedom comes power. The power to choose. God hadn't made us to be drones, He designed us in order that we may reason, and that we would choose. That we would choose right, that we would choose Him... Him, even over ourselves. …

“I’m fixing my eyes on you”

One of the evidences of God's hand in this world, that I see, is that the lessons in life can also be our lessons in faith. I am often amazed at how my responses to the daily obstacles I face can be so reflective of my treatment of the daily challenges to my growth in …

To Talk the Talk – A “Value-Added” Life

I suppose, since I repeatedly ask God to share with me whatever wisdom he knows I can handle, I should probably try to pay attention to the times when he may be doing just that. It usually starts out as how I think others, or the world around me don't live up to God's standards, …

In His image

God, forgive me and help me that I don't look more like you; that I don't magnify you when people hold me up to the world around me. As I am made to be a likeness of you, Father, then forgive me and help me that instead of displaying the 'works of the flesh' when …

Mental~ Physical~ Spiritual Energy?

I often, (daily), wonder about the fact that I feel so drained of energy and enthusiasm. I mean, it's so easy to be numb and lifeless, so seldom am I motivated and excited. It's so normal now, to just react to my day, and not to seek adventure in it.   I came across a …

Oxymoron: Lonesome Christian?

This one's about me... maybe some can relate, maybe not. But, it's about me. The way things have worked out, so far anyway, I don't know how to say it, I am just lonely. I feel like God must be the only one who understands me, or at least I pray that he does. (No, …

What’s my superpower?

So I'm chatting with a friend online through a support Ministry. We share a struggle that is particularly unapproachable in most church settings. I want to be loving and at the same time truthful. We have parallels in our iniquities, though we are in somewhat different circumstances. I want to share the hope we have …

On Earth as in Heaven?

From what I've seen, aside from human interventions, we have the freedom to live our lives however we want while on Earth. I believe we have a choice what kingdom we participate in, both here on Earth, and for an eternity. But, Jesus told us to pray these words, "...your kingdom come, your will be …

“Jesus wept.”

Honestly, I'm at a loss for words in the light of the most recent senseless killings. "Jesus wept." John 11:35.  This one very short verse is all I could muster up when I put my mind to it. It's concise, yet it is packed with emotion, and very revealing to the Gospel of Christ. As …

Intersections vs. Junctions

The Hope, and the Power we have is in the Convergence of our path with God's. 

Message in a Bottle

"My gosh, is that what I look like to God? Do I look like such an unbelieving fool?"

No Standing Still

"Aah, there it is , it IS either up or down. Growing in faith, or Backsliding. No stand still."

Dancing on the ‘Line’

Does God really know the difference between me being tempted by outside sources, and me tempting myself? I have been battling with this question for years. John Piper's blog had an interesting discussion on this recently: "First, there’s a difference between the essence of sin and the outward act of sinning. The essence of sin …

Deadness Revisited

"Today I spent time memorializing the intentional deadness of my sinful self. Today I mowed, and edged, the lawn."

Who’s Leading Who?

Someone said, "Either your life reflects your God, or your God reflects your life." Definitely, from examples around us, one might say it could go either way. But which one sounds most correct: Striving for your life to symbolize and reflect the image and will of the one true God? Believing in a more personal …

The Phoenix, the Priest, and the Rabbi

"That boxer believed he could box, and he asked for God's blessing in it."

The Essence of Evil

Some will concede that Life is a journey, a Spiritual battle. What is this battle of ours really all about? I imagine, depending on where we all are on this journey, there could be a broad spectrum of varying answers, varying relative truths. But let's consider this... we know that darkness is the absence of light, so …

Mountains & Valleys

I don't recall signing up to be a 'Mountaintop Christian' where every moment is some kind of a watershed event, bringing volumes of glory to God. It just appears to me that some Christians can jump from peak to peak, like that, unceasingly bringing glory to the Father over and over again. Apparently, that's not …