I have started taking the long way to get places. I don’t go too far off course, but if I can head a couple blocks in the wrong direction before I loop back toward home or the office, I’ll do it. Since adding a baby to my life, it can feel like any time I’m…
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Over the past many months, artists from around the world have been transforming our city walls into giant works of art here in Gainesville, Florida. 352walls has transformed many of our downtown buildings into eye-catching, mind blowing and head scratching murals that have done much to inspire the imagination and spark the curiosity of the…
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Over the last few months I’ve been acutely awake to and aware of a phenomenon that is ever-present in my life–the goodness and dedication of volunteers. Here at UCG, Andy, Vince, and I have the privilege of working as resource ministers with various boards or committees that meet regularly and conduct the business of and…
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“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” – Luke 33:11 When I took my twin five-year old nieces down to the beach on Thanksgiving, I…
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When my father passed away the September before last (has it really been so long?), a good friend gave me a very special devotional book. I have read it often and more often than not the daily selections strike a chord in me that I haven’t heard in a long time; chords that sound good…
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Truth be told, I make quite a few resolutions throughout the year. The many changes I intend cannot wait until the last day of December–so all year I need to offer myself “helpful” advice and make renewed commitments to change my lifestyle to include the healthy habits I believe in. I turn over not just…
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I’m a lucky fellow because I love my job. Sure, it has its frustrating moments- but on the whole I get to do the things I love with people I love in a place that I love. It doesn’t get any better than that. And this Advent season, I feel that love ten-fold. As the…
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Last Sunday we lit the candle of peace on our advent wreath. Today the world seems as far from that peace as it does from the love candle we will light this week. The rhetoric of violence and exclusion in our national media has risen to a fever pitch, even as trees are decorated and…
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Sometimes there are certain things that we say in a sermon that people just remember forever and ever. And we get reminded of those things on a regular basis. While I’d love to tell you it’s the beautiful way we unpacked a certain scripture passage, or the poignant way we brought light to a difficult…
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I know, I know, it’s just Thanksgiving, and I’m already celebrating the ball drop. But actually, in the historical church calendar, this week marks the end of one year and the beginning of another. Sunday, November 29th is the start of Advent, the first season in the church year. (So get those little calendars full…
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