Good morning to the golden stalks of dry wild grass and reeds catching the early light in the east over the world that God loves…

May this Bow Tie Thursday find you blessed and well…

Good evening to the crescent moon watching over the world that God loves…

Good afternoon to the stark line dividing the oncoming storm from the blue skies of earlier in the day over this part of the world that God loves…

Already Freed--April 23, 2026 Already Freed--April 23, 2026 "You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable thing...

God doesn't dangle redemption out in front of us like a carrot to a harnessed donkey, saying, "If you work hard enough for long enough, there will be a treat in store for you," but rather, "You can rest already--I've already redeemed you."

beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/alre...

Acts 10 04 23 26 YouTube video by Stephen Bond

It can be hard to hear our own history retold without whitewashing out our failures, mistakes, and bad choices. It's even harder to be the one telling that truthful history to people who made an edited, glorified version of history into an idol. Just ask Stephen the Martyr.

youtu.be/Ngtw00GPAY0

Good morning to the wings of the maple seeds, waiting for their moment to twirl into a place of their own in the word that God loves…

More Present, Not Less--April 22, 2026 More Present, Not Less--April 22, 2026 "As they came near the village toward which they were going, [the risen Jesus] walked ahead as if he ...

Instead of seeing Easter as Jesus' exit strategy for getting out of this physical world full of flesh and blood, of sweat and suffering, maybe we need to see it as just the opposite: as the way Jesus can now be present all over creation all at once.

beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/more...

Good afternoon to the clouds leaving smudges of themselves on the sky over the world that God loves…

Episode 480: Why Our End Times Theology Matters, Part Three--Does God Need Our Help?

Hey friends!
We've got a new episode of our weekly podcast, Crazy Faith Talk, in our current series, "Why Our End Time Theology Matters." Does God need our help to fight some cosmic future battle, or is the victory already won in Christ? Listen here!

open.spotify.com/episode/4XdO...

Heart of Things 08 04 26 26 YouTube video by Stephen Bond

The Christian story stops sounding like a deal or a transaction and starts sounding like good news when we realize that ultimately it's not about our grip on God that saves anybody, but about GOD's grip on us that will not let us go.

youtu.be/ZpmtYIjF8CY

Good morning to the eastern sky as the sun traces the edges of the clouds that float above the world that God loves…

A New Story for Slow Hearts--April 21, 2026 A New Story for Slow Hearts--April 21, 2026 "Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, 'Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem...

The two walking disciples had assumed the Messiah was going to be a conquering king or a military commander, destroying their enemies in the name of God. The Risen Jesus shows them that this was a misreading, both of their Scriptures and the character of God.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-ne...

Word for the Week:
(drawn from John 10:1-10)

Jesus pulls us into a community centered not on a place but on a person, like sheep gathered around a shepherd.

#WordForTheWeek

Looking Ahead 04 26 26 YouTube video by Stephen Bond

With streaming services, online ordering, and even home delivery of fast food, it is easy to be disconnected with everybody and everything around us. The community of Jesus is different--to be connected to him is to be brought into relationship with one another.

youtu.be/ry57GFLTsgs

Good morning to the dandelion ready to give itself away, standing beside its younger siblings waiting to open and offer their color to the world that God loves…

Good afternoon to the low-hanging clouds floating in the sky on the way back home after some visits out in the world that God loves…

Meeting Us On the Way--April 20, 2026 Meeting Us On the Way--April 20, 2026 "Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusa...

Jesus meets us where we are at--on the way. He walks with us for the journey we are actually taking--not one prescribed by where a religious pamphlet tells us we are supposed to be. And he makes it possible for us to face life on the other side of Sunday.

beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/meet...

Good afternoon to the viburnum blossoms opening themselves to the world that God loves…

Yesterday and today’s project: The Good Shepherd, in advance of next Sunday…

Good afternoon to the geese flying in tandem over the river and off into the world that God loves…

Good afternoon to the bark peeling from the tree in graceful curves before gravity pulls it down to the ground of the world that God loves…

Good morning to the dandelion standing above the dewy grass and waiting for the new day to unfold in the world that God loves…

Good evening to the shadows and swirls of clouds sweeping across the sky over the world that God loves…

A Strategy of Joy--April 17, 2026 A Strategy of Joy--April 17, 2026 "In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the ge...

In the face of the mean-spirited bluster of the bullies of the day, the community of Jesus dares to rejoice, and we take away the power that was meant to make us afraid. And so we laugh.

beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-st...

Good morning to the robin keeping watch from the top of the garage and looking out onto the world that God loves…

All the rain has made the flowers bloom on another Bow Tie Thursday…

All Grace, Baby--April 16, 2026 All Grace, Baby--April 16, 2026 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into...

To say that our mothers "gave birth" to us is a reminder that we did not earn our own existence, but receive our lives as a gift. And to say that God, like a mother, has "given us a new birth" makes it clear that our lives in Christ are gifts of grace, too.

beinggraced.blogspot.com/2026/04/all-...

Witnesses a poem for April 15, 2026 The night recedes and I steep in birdsong. The crabapple tree bows its limbs heavy with eager, blushing buds and lingering raindrops. The world awakens to find itself still blessed and washed again. On the days when the Thomas in me doubts the impossible notion of resurrection, the robin, the cardinal and the sparrow offer me their testimony before my eyes can confirm the sun rising through the clouds: “See! All things are made new.”

Witnesses
a poem for April 15, 2026

Good morning to the raindrops clinging to the crabapple blossoms waiting to open for the world that God loves…