Author: Sweet Tea and Front Porch Storyteller
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The Word Made Flesh: More Than Words on a Page
Daily Office Readings: Psalm 148 | Exodus 12:1–14 | John 1:1–18 Introduction The Psalmist calls for all humanity to praise the Lord! Exodus 12 celebrates Passover. John describes Jesus as the Logos or the Word. Most Christians consider God’s Word to be the Bible, but I don’t see that, for John 1 tells us the…
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When Suffering Speaks and Breath Remains
Daily Office Readings: Psalm 88 • Job 19:21–27 • Hebrews 4:1–16 Sitting with the Tension Some mornings on the porch, the Scriptures don’t line up neatly. They don’t tie themselves into a bow or offer a simple answer I can carry into the day. Instead, they sit beside me like old friends—each telling a different…
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Held Together by the Breath of God
Daily Office Readings Psalm 102Jeremiah 20:7–111 Corinthians 10:14; 11:27–32John 17:1–26 There are mornings on the porch when the world feels both fragile and vast. The birds sing as if nothing is wrong, the wind moves through the trees like an old storyteller, and somewhere deep within, a quiet question rises: What holds all of this…
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🌿 Trust — The Bridge We Choose to Walk
For the Curious Pilgrim, trust is not naïve certainty; it is a decision to step forward without having the whole map. It is: Believing there is ground beneath your foot before you fully place your weight on it Choosing openness even after you have known disappointment Allowing another person—or God—to be who they are, without…
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⛰️ Who Can Ascend the Hill of the Lord?
Daily Office Readings: Psalm 24; Zechariah 9:9–12; 1 Timothy 6:12–16 ✍️ When the Song Feels Hard to Sing “Rejoice and shout aloud…” “Fight the good fight…” “God…who gives life to all things.” These words from today’s readings call us to sing, to declare, and to honor God with thanksgiving. They remind us that life itself…
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📖 The Art of Happiness
What I Learned Reading The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler challenged me to rethink something we often assume we already understand—what it truly means to be happy. 🌱 The Purpose of Life One of the most striking ideas is simple yet profound:The very purpose of our lives is to seek happiness.…
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“From a Distance We Judge… Up Close We Learn to Love”
Judging from a Distance In business communications, we are taught that we make three judgments when meeting someone: The first when they are 500 feet away The second at 100 feet away The third when they open their mouth and speak Before we know their story…Before we understand their pain…Before we see their heart… We…
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🌾 The Curious Pilgrim
From Dick Tracy to Smartphones: Living Faithfully in a Changing World Introduction: When the Impossible Becomes Ordinary When I was a child growing up on a farm in rural Mississippi, our connection to the outside world came through the Grit newspaper. Each week, it brought stories, ideas, and a glimpse of life beyond our fields.…
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What Is Love, Really? A Journey Beyond Romance
✍️ Introduction: Learning Love Without a Map I did not start dating until my senior year in high school. It wasn’t that I wasn’t curious—I was. But I was not driven the way some young men my age seemed to be. While others were pairing off, I was more interested in learning, observing, and trying…
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🌅 Curious Pilgrim – Part 3: Beyond the Label
Following Jesus in a Wider World There was a time when my faith came neatly packaged. At Bible college, I was taught to see Scripture through a clear and structured lens: Genesis showed the need for redemption Israel became the channel of redemption The Gospels revealed the purchase of redemption Acts proclaimed it The Epistles…
