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Continue reading →: An Honest Lent
“Lent is the time for trimming the soul and scraping the sludge off a life turned slipshod. Lent is about taking stock of time, even religious time. Lent is about exercising the control that enables us to say “No” to ourselves so that when life turns hard of its own…
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Continue reading →: Lenten Self-Reflection
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he…
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Continue reading →: Jesus Wants to be Your Personal King
In some circles it’s not popular to talk about Jesus as your personal Savior, or having a personal relationship with Jesus. Detractors claim that the words “personal Savior” or “personal relationship with Jesus” don’t occur in the Bible. True. However, Jesus is a person and he invites us into relationship…
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Continue reading →: A Virtuous Life is a Happy Life
I’m struck by how many people arrive at mid-life and discover what they thought would make them happy has utterly failed. They pursued the American Dream only to find that it turned, not into a nightmare (at least that would be interesting), but into a ho-hum, boring, uninspired existence. So,…
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Continue reading →: On Abuse
Sunday, October 18, 2015, I shared the message: Honor Mom & Dad, the fifth in the series, Life Preservers: 10 Commandments for Life. This message was based on Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother so that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is…
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Continue reading →: I Dreamed a Dream…
“Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind.” – The Rolling Stones Fantine, the lovelorn tragic character of Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables" lost her dream and her life lost meaning. She succumbed to hopelessness and died. Dreams can disappoint and leave us feeling lost, without purpose in the world.…
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Continue reading →: Tempted to Run Away?
“We do not exist for ourselves.” – Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island I was plotting my escape! I drew a map of the neighboring houses and farms and knew of an abandoned farmhouse about a mile behind the parsonage of Rockfield UMC in rural Warren County. I had…
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Continue reading →: There’s Only One You. Be You.
“Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” –– Oscar Wilde Inspiration comes from a multitude of places. We feel encouraged by a parent, a coach, a teacher, a pastor, a mentor, an uncle or aunt, or any number of other people who impact our lives in positive ways. I remember being…
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Continue reading →: The Power of Choice
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” – Stephen Covey I recently spoke about our power of choice and how this is a uniquely human endowment. Dogs, cats, horses, and cows function out of instinct, not choice. Only humans have this power.…
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Continue reading →: Which Side Are You On?
We’re all in a formation process all of the time. Some of us are formed by Christ, to be more like him. Some of us are being formed by the world, to be more like the ruler of the air. In my last post I used the Star Wars universe…
Hello,
I’m Chris
Welcome to Flourishing Life, a space designed to help you pursue the abundant life God offers everyone. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (ESV). I’m convinced God created the world for flourishing human life. However, we’ve all contributed to the brokenness in the world and our own lives. Many don’t even realize a better way is possible. My hope for this blog is that you’ll discover the life God has always intended for you, the ones you love, and the world.
Flourishing Life 