"And Isaac redug the wells of his father Abraham..." Genesis chapter 26

This talk is about the deepest drive underneath all other human drives.Section 1: Data on HappinessSection 2: A few philosophers (and a mathematician)Section 3: A castrated medieval theologian on happinessI ended by talking about how Christianity is completely unique.

Does God expect blind faith? Are reason and faith opposed?

We discussed some fascinating quotes from this Stoic Roman Emperor who sought to live a virtuous life. Much of his advice to himself can be helpfully applied to us in our life lived with and for Jesus.

Hope for the broken based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.

We're made in the image of our Creator, who is creative (Gen 1) and who designed us to be creative (Gen 2).Here's the thesis: To be creative we must allow ourselves the luxury and the discomfort of boredom.The algorythms disrupt this God-given impulse, turning us into consumers.

Tonight we dug deeper into the theme of how we are meant to let go and let God, and what we are meant to hold onto instead of what we naturally do.This was a Wednesday Whiteboard chat.

Questions and answers after one of my annual counseling weeks with short term missions students.

Hurt enough - realize need for changeLearn enough - realize change is possibleReceive enough - able to change

"I don't know," can be scary. But it's part of the posture of a learner.

This Wednesday Whiteboard session was about how we are a part of a much larger story of God's covenant with family lineage, not just individuals.We ended by making some declarations and doing some good spiritual work breaking agreements and making agreements with gospel truths.

Joseph of Arimathea laid him in his tomb.

"Be merciful to those who doubt." Jude 1:22

A chat about the afterlife.

This is a reflection on the nature of faith. It tries to work out some implications of what James says in chapter 2 of his letter when he tells us, "Oh you say you believe in one God? Well guess what? The demons believe, but they tremble." Real faith isn't about what we claim to agree with, but what we stake our lives on. This truth cuts two ways:1. If we say we believe, maybe we're wrong.2. If we say we don't believe, maybe we're wrong.

Mark 6:46 “He went up on the mountain to pray.”Where are your meeting places where you go to meet with God? How does beauty play a role in that? How do you set the mood to tune and align your soul to the Father?

The Wednesday evening group helped me process a text from a friend.Then we talked about the question, "What is holiness?"

A real hero bleeds, fails, and grows, because the line between good and evil isn't out there, us and them, but much closer.

Was Jesus racist? What is the children's bread? And other questions... (from Mark 7:24-30)

This chat is about the leftovers in the multiplication of food miracles. It's about how we deal with leftovers historically vs now, and it's about what Jesus wants to do with broken people, and the broken pieces of our lives. Also, cheese is amazing.