ABOUT LOU I met a Mexican man named Lou on the upper deck of the Ruby Princess, our cruise ship. He wanted to have a philosophical discussion on religion, a sharing of ideas so to speak. As he told me his beliefs, I found he was very confused as to what it meant to be […]
Walking My Granddog on December 27 I just came back inside after walking Ossi, a Miniature Schnauzer, 11 years old and totally blind. He trusts that Grampa will guide him safely so he can get some exercise and do his business. But sometimes he strains against the leash to go in a direction that would […]
HIS WORLD We too often try to fit God into our world instead of fitting ourselves into His world. Let me give you an example. I am the president of a Christian organization and am thwarted at every turn by a proud man who does not like my style of inclusive leadership. I pray for […]
RELIGIOUS VS. RELATIONAL I talked to Tyler last Tuesday evening. “I’m in a valley, Pat. Everything seems dull. I’m just going through the motions with my prayer time.” He was calling me because I’m his mentor and he needed some advice to liven up his soul. I asked him some questions to more fully understand […]
GOD’S POCKET 2 Let’s set the record straight. No credit is due me for the following story. I have such a distance to go to become the man God wants me to be that I hesitate to even tell it at all, lest I be seen as boasting. Tuesday afternoon I was at a large […]
A GOOD DAY TO DIE Tyler called early Saturday afternoon, so excited and joyful that he could barely contain himself. He was offered a job from Allina Health as a peer-support counselor in the very hospital he was treated at in Minneapolis this summer, following a recovered-addict presentation to a roomful of doctors and health […]
TWO HOURS OF JESUS I visited Tyler at a Christian transition house in South Minneapolis. For two hours he told me what Jesus has been doing in his life through the power of the Holy Spirit. I mainly listened. If you’ll remember, this is the guy who was addicted to drugs and alcohol starting when […]
GOD’S POCKET The young man that I’m mentoring – I can’t call him a former prisoner any longer for he has been freed through Christ – is teaching me as much as I’m teaching him. Here is an excerpt from our conversation last Saturday. Tyler: “I want to tell you about something that’s making a […]
MORNING FOG I drove through a shadow world early yesterday morning on my way from Buffalo, MN to St. Cloud, a distance of 40 miles. Cars on the road looked like ghosts showing two dim lanterns, the trees and buildings off the highway barely visible in the shadowy mist. Friends, even on a bright day […]
MY STATUS Driving into Minneapolis last Monday, I prayed a wandering prayer. “Oh Lord, all the cars on the road, all the people in the city, who am I on my own? Only an insignificant identity, nobody, unknown except by a few, of no significance or status, of no great value to the world, a lonely […]