Posted on: 27 January 2012

C.S. Lewis was an atheist for the first twenty and some odd years of his life but he always acknowledged that he had a strong sense of God’s presence in his youth. As a Christ-follower, Lewis was convinced that the pull of God’s story is present in every part of our lives. Through delight, desire, and despair God calls us. Has God set eternity within our hearts? There is no reason for us to delight in the smell of the ocean, the giggling of a child, or the feel of a new spring wind upon our faces.  But we do delight. There is no natural reason that we desire to delve into the mysteries of the universe, to engage in a quiet moments of solitude, or to experience the comforting love of an unseen... 

Posted on: 25 January 2012

Back in the mid-nineties, when I was a youth minister, I traveled to Canada quite a bit. A good friend pastoring in Toronto, Anthony Does, became a ministry partner and friend. We often visited each other others churches as speakers, took our youth on mission trips together and shared in each others victories and personal woes. To this day, I consider Anthony a dear friend, the kind that will lay his life down for me at the drop of a hat. Anthony is boisterous with his love for Toronto, Ontario and all things Canadian. He never failed to share his country’s historical tales or find a hidden little restaurant that only the locals knew of. He taught me about the profound cultural diversity... 

Posted on: 23 January 2012

The streets of Kolkata are usually clogged with humanity but at dusk on a Friday night they become jammed with every form of traffic in existence. We arrive, on a late afternoon flight, with our team of eight. We jam our mish-mash of luggage and our dog-tired bodies into the extended van waiting just outside of the terminal. We have one goal in mind and only an hour to reach it. I’m doubtful. I’ve driven through these insane thoroughfares before. It is easier to navigate through a stampeding herd of bull elephants than the streets of Kolkata, especially during rush hour. But our driver, as confident as a pit bull against a pack of poodles, puts on a good face and barrels into the fray. Abusing... 

Posted on: 20 January 2012

My first exposure to the writings of C.S. Lewis came like most fans of his work. As a youth I discovered The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe through the 1980’s PBS special, and shortly thereafter in print. I moved through the fantastic world of the seven Narnia books without recognizing the allegory.  As I read the Narnia series, It was same experience C.S. Lewis had while reading George MacDonald’s ‘Phantases’ as a youth: “That night my imagination was, in a certain sense, baptized; the rest of me, not unnaturally, took longer. I had not the faintest notion what I had let myself in for buying Phantases.”  I had not the slightest idea what I had begun by reading the Narnia books.... 

Posted on: 18 January 2012

Belize is an anomaly amongst its Central American neighbors. Her citizens speak English, she was once a mighty Mayan kingdom, and Belize possesses the most diverse and stunning coastal reef system in the Western Hemisphere. I started visiting Belize four years ago. Besides her warm people, Belize is filled with secret pockets of paradise.  I visited this spot on a private piece of property that only the locals know about. They call it the 20-Foot Falls. This out-of-the-way swimming hole has the ability to remove all your cares. These crystal waters invite you to dive deep. I took this picture because of how the red flowers pop against the emerald waters. Could this be the Fountain of Youth? What...