Have you ever complained to God, asking why bad things happen to good people? Have you ever questioned God's concern for you, your family, or friends who were facing crises which seemed out of control? Have you found it difficult to trust God when your prayers seem to go unanswered?

Orlando, FL; November 2-3, 2018I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. —Psalm 139:13Young children live freely, moving through the world without shame or pretense. But as we grow older, the impact of sin, trauma, and cultural expectations dim our natural luminescence. When this happens, we develop a “false self” as a way to cope and control how others see us. We exaggerate our gifts and create a caricature of the glory God gave us as image bearers.Parker Palmer says “Our strongest gifts are usually those we are barely aware of possessing. They are a part of our God-given nature, with us from the moment we drew our first breath, and we are no more conscious of having them them than we are of breathing.”

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from The Cost of Discipleship. What if that is not bad news, but in fact really good news? What if our soul's destiny depends on it? "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Joel Marcus in his commentary on the gospel passage for Sunday provocatively asks, "But why should one accept the dreadful burden of the cross? Why should one want to follow Jesus, (cf.8:34b) if discipleship means entry into a living death?"

Hanging pictures is best done by a team of two. One person shifts the wire on the back of the picture to the left or right until it finds a magical (mythical) midpoint where the picture will hang evenly.