Blog
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The women at the cross: Some thoughts for Good Friday
On this Good Friday (why is it good?), I share with you some thoughts that I gave at church on a Good Friday past. May you find meaning in your remembering this day. Mark 15:33–41 (NIV) At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus…
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Watercolor Wednesday: Life before all of this
Seeing people grouped together now, such as in this painting by my dad, seems to stem from a different time. It feels poignant and removed from our experience today. I wonder how life will be different when we come out of lockdown? How are you doing? Are you missing any gatherings in particular? [By Leo…
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Watercolor Wednesday: Living water
I find this recent painting that my dad created so evocative. It captures those weeks in Minnesota that seemingly go on a long time – when the snow has melted but the signs of Spring feel far off. Brown is the color of the ground and perhaps of the soul, as things can feel lifeless…
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Weekly Watercolor: Behind city walls
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to build in so many countries, city streets are becoming increasingly deserted. What I like about this painting by my dad, which is a look down a Roman street, is the contrast between the bright colors of the buildings with the lone figures on the street. Let’s say they are…
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Watercolor Wednesday: At the grave of Lazarus
One of the best things about immersing myself in a writing project is how much I learn in the midst of the research. Lately I’ve been working on a short book for small groups on the prayers of Jesus for Lent next year. There are seven recorded prayers of Jesus, and we look at six…
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Watercolor Wednesday: A time to reflect
The beginning of Lent can feel a bit like this watercolor of my dad’s – grey, overcast, a bit dreary and rainy. Very English weather, in fact. We don’t know how long we’ll feel like this, and if the clouds will lift. Many Christians don’t observe Lent – they see the work of Jesus on…
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Weekly Watercolor: A cabin in the woods
Are you more of a mountains or a beach person? Mind, I don’t think you have to be one or the other. I think I’ll claim both. I love the refreshment of soaking up the sun, listening to the waves pounding in musically. But I also love drinking in the cool mountain air, looking up…
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Watercolor Wednesday: City life
Have you ever thought about how life in the new heaven and new earth will revolve around a city? Well, that’s the picture we see in Revelation 21:1–2: “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw…
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Watercolor Wednesday: Revealing what’s underneath
Our first painting of 2020! My dad just finished this wonderful landscape of life in Minnesota with its atmospheric snow. To create it, he covered the canvas with a number of coats of white paint. Then he painted with his watercolors, and when the paint was almost dry, he took a whittling knife and scraped…
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What I Read in 2019
I stayed up way too late last night reading. Sound familiar? I was finishing off the massive bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, which lives up to the hype. It took me awhile to get into the story, as it jumps backwards and forwards in time, but once I was in the world…
