Tag Archives: support

Cloud of Witnesses

My high school buddy, JD, just started a weight loss vlog where he will chronicle his journey to lose weight and get healthier. One of the things he asks for is to be held accountable on his journey by friends, family, and the internet. I’ll be joining in too to watch and encourage him. He’s an amazingly intelligent and funny dude. Go for it, JD!

His story is motivating me to get healthier, as I gained weight over my recent vacation experience and hope to get back in the groove of living and eating well too.

One of those classic scripture verses that people find lots of inspiration in is Hebrews 12:1, which talks about being surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses” on our journey. The idea is that we are being cheered on, like in the Olympic games or whatever, to finish the race that is before us. It’s a beautiful poetic term, and regardless of your approach or understanding of faith, it does capture something that seems universal to the human experience. We all have moments where we need to be cheered on or challenged to not give up on what we feel like we are called to do with our lives. Maybe that support comes from some kind of spiritual realm… or maybe it just comes from people around us that we trust and love us. Or maybe it can even come from strangers on the internet.

But what a difference it can make!

Have you given that kind of support to anyone this week? Have you received that encouragement from someone else? I hope you have or consider this your own challenge to be a part of that that cloud for someone else.

Peace on your journey!


Wholeness Group this evening

Addiction & Grace by Gerald May

Our new Wholeness Group is still in its infancy. We are meeting for the third time tonight, looking at chapter two from Addiction and Grace. There is still plenty of time to catch up and join in the conversation. I still have about three extra books for anyone who needs one.

Remember, this group is less about recovery and more about finding balance and healing. We are not trying to fix anyone in our sessions together. There is opportunity to share stories, struggles, hopes, and ideas.

The two big keys for me out of the reading for this week are these two lines, both on page 31:

“First, although God calls us all toward more perfect life, we cannot personally achieve the state of perfection. … Second, we need to recognize that the incompleteness within us, our personal insufficiency, does not make us unacceptable in God’s eyes.”

Struggling with our addictions, whether they are chemical, relationship, work, or whatever, is about realizing our limits. We can’t fix ourselves. We can’t easily solve this addiction. And that fact does not make us less lovable. We are still loved. God still finds great value in us. There is always hope. Once we admit that we cannot simply overcome these issues, the more likely we are to begin the path toward healing.

If you know someone who is looking for a safe place for this kind of conversation or if you need an informal, supportive group of folks to vent about your struggle to find wholeness, join us this evening, 6:30 PM in the Disciples Room at East Dallas Christian Church (629 N. Peak St., Dallas, TX).


Stand by me

I’m thankful to be surrounded my a loving wife, beautiful kids, a great family, and many friends who stand by me during tough moments of my life. I know there are many in this world who do not have that support… or don’t get it from the people who are supposed to give it. Some folks do find that support in a church, but churches can abuse people too. I long for a world where everybody has that oasis, a place to be loved and connected regardless of who they are and where they were born.

The playing for change songs are great and provide this image of a common language by which all humans can communicate. We have plenty of old songs, new songs, and songs yet to be written that can help us vision and live into a world where our lamentations and dreams mingle together. A world where it don’t matter the money you have, the education you have, the mistakes you’ve made, or even the religion you follow – someone is there to stand with you.

Do you dream of that kind of world too? May we pray for it and live for it… together.


Wholeness Group

Addiction & Grace by Gerald May

Tonight, we are organizing our first gathering of a new wholeness group here at the church. This is a new small group that is about encouraging participants on a journey to wholeness, especially a sense of spiritual health. It’s not a recovery group, but we expect to have some folks in the church and our neighborhood participate who struggle with addiction of various kinds, know family members and friends who have battled such challenges, or need a place of support and encouragement. We will read Gerald May’s Addiction and Grace together as food for thought and reflection. Everyone is welcome to join us for this first meeting at 6:30 PM in the Disciples Room.

Shoot me an email if you have questions.


Tornadoes in DFW!

With Holy Week pub and lots of regular activities unfolding, I had already planned to have a busy day yesterday. That all suddenly changed with a line of storms that spit rain, hail, wind, and swirling, whirling vortexes of doom. Seriously, what a crazy day! Holy Week pub went on but with a smaller crowd than anticipated. I am so glad that everyone is safe, but we continue to listen carefully for families, friends, and neighbors affected by the weather and how we might help.

Week of Compassion updated us with their efforts on Facebook:

Multiple tornados struck the Dallas-Fort Worth are this afternoon, striking several communities. Early accounts report wide-spread damage in The Dallas suburb of Arlington.

In the midst of the damage and immediate confusion, Week of Compassion is already responding. We are currently collecting information in partnership with regional and local congregational leadership to assess needs and respond quickly and efficiently. If you would like to contribute to this response, please reach out with Courageous Compassion by clicking here (LINK: https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=2980)

I hope you take a moment to pitch in your support for their efforts. I know there are Red Cross drives going on in our community as well. The Table will look for opportunities to do more than just pray for those affected – stay tuned!


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