Are you sleeping, are you sleeping? Brother John, Brother John? Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing Ding ding dong, ding ding dong. "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” -- Job 3:21 I love the promise of peace in each new day, but I will not forget the dark of the sleepless nights of sorting through a sin-dominated past seeking the softness of a forgiving dawn, which came only through the freedom of finding grace. The dark nights would end with tints of orange and red and brightening gray as through the bedside window I would see the sun … [Read more...] about A Thousand Sleepless Nights
Sexual Brokenness is a Survivable Struggle
While it’s probably not a good thing to get too bogged down in the “who am I?” and the “who are you?” questions, they do come up in our minds every now and then. We can’t help it. Who am I? Who are you? God only knows. But, thank God, God truly does know. It took me a long time to admit I was “sexually-broken.” I knew from an early age that engaging in sexual activity with a person of the same sex was wrong. I knew it instinctively, but I also knew it spiritually. God’s Word was clear on the issue. Still, it seemed impossible to resist and yielding to it cost me greatly. Only by … [Read more...] about Sexual Brokenness is a Survivable Struggle
Storing Up Stones in Places of Grace
"I don't need this." "I don't want this." "I hate this." "What is this?" Where did this come from?" Why do I have this? "Whose is this?" "This hurts." "I remember this." "I didn't ask for this." "Where should I put . . . this?" One thing is for certain: there really is a lot of this. I grew up in a family that accepted transition as a stable state of being. If I begin on Texas Street -- the first house I really remember -- I can close my eyes, unfold the memory map, and wind my mind down the roads of yesterday through tiny towns and sprawling cities, spooky old houses to … [Read more...] about Storing Up Stones in Places of Grace
Why Call it Brokenness?
By Thom Hunter – www.thomhunter.com "I cannot stress this enough to you, but I'll still say it: I'll never be Christian. I think your Bible is nothing more than a piece of literature. I don't believe in your God, and never will. But I will criticize you when you use your God to "fix" homosexuality, as if it were something to be fixed." -- An anonymous young friend I have broken only two bones in my lifetime. A wrist and a rib. The result of each was an increase in pain, a decrease in mobility and a denied sense of helplessness during a time of adjustment and healing. I still have the … [Read more...] about Why Call it Brokenness?
2010: A Grace Odyssey
I will always be one who looks back. Out of my past, with all its levels of conjured contentedness concealed between cushions of deceit, I draw my emotion. In the losses, I find my determination. In the pain, I uncover energy to search for the truth of healing. In the regret, I discover grace. Out of the stupidity of ill-conceived actions and words, I hunger for wisdom. In the layers of the past, I see the unfolding of the future. On some days, it is as if I am still there; on others it is as if I never was. Such is an Odyssey of Grace, a clumsy reconciling of sin and shame with healing and … [Read more...] about 2010: A Grace Odyssey
The View From This Inn
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? -- Matthew 6:27 I have at times in the past skated on very thin ice, life-speaking. I have also been tested by fire and occasionally found lacking. I have been cold and I have been warm and I have been luke . . . as in lukewarm, somewhere in the sad and unsatisfying middle. But this year, as Christmas closes in, I am at peace, almost overwhelmed by the incredible undeniable truth that wherever and whenever, I am never alone. And never will be. Last Saturday night, one week before Christmas, around 10:30 p.m., our house went up in … [Read more...] about The View From This Inn
Denial Really is a River
The view from the banks doesn’t tell us how deep Is the beautiful river that flows. As the babbling sound of the water that speeds Calls out to our landlocked souls. We hold fast on the shore, skipping rocks in the swells As the sun’s light repaints the deep blue And the water moves on carrying with it the hope Of a life we so want to renew. A life spent on dry land, with a river in sight A life thirsty and wanting for more We keep longingly searching as day fades to night And the river's voice grows to a roar. We will know where it goes when we take the first step Leaving shoes … [Read more...] about Denial Really is a River
Surviving Sexual Brokenness: What Grace Can Do
NOTE: My new book, Surviving Sexual Brokenness: What Grace Can Do has been published by WestBow Press, a Division of Thomas Nelson. I know it's unusual to tout ones own book so openly, but I truly believe this is a book that could help Southern Baptist Churches grapple with the issue of how to help members who struggle with sexual issues, including homosexuality, pornography and heterosexual adultery. I hope it will offer encouragement to you and members of your family in the pursuit of wholeness. I am posting the Introduction here, as well as an endorsement by Bob Stith, SBC's National … [Read more...] about Surviving Sexual Brokenness: What Grace Can Do
The Courage it Takes to Go Home
By Thom Hunter Did you leave things un-opened in dusty old attics way back down the road somewhere In boxes you sealed and callously labeled "open only if you really dare?" Did your words slip away, unspoken and wasted, and your thoughts vanish into the air When you turned on the car and drove away crying, thinking no one still there would care? Go home. Throw open the attic of yesterday and re-fill with the hope of tomorrow Re-label the box and tear off the seals that for too long have held hidden sorrow. Let flow words of peace, re-claim thoughts of love, cover each memory with … [Read more...] about The Courage it Takes to Go Home
Drop the Cymbal Before the World Goes Deaf
All I ever needed to know in life I learned on the treadmill with my earphones on. Not really. But . . . I have learned some things in the afternoon cross-connection between Glenn Beck and Oprah Winfrey, switching between them when commercials come on, their wisdom delivered directly through my earphones in the midst of an adrenaline rush while I try to burn off about 400 calories before the programs end. I'm a captive audience, taking in the technology and the glitz . . . and the messages of the hosts and guests, all carefully edited and sharpened to a point. Got me. What I've … [Read more...] about Drop the Cymbal Before the World Goes Deaf