Not far from my house is a path with a little stream flowing right beside it. Trees grow all along this short path, and in early fall it’s a glorious scene of vibrant colors reflecting on the water.

I love this path. It’s not too peopley, which makes it peaceful. And while it’s smack in the middle of suburbia, the trees block the houses fairly well, and the stream makes enough bubbly noises that you feel you’ve snuck away to a secluded spot.

How free are you right now?

Are you free to be joyful? Free to be quirky and like what you like? Free to enjoy close relationship with God? Free to take a break from serving? Free to skip church, if you need to? Free to believe something new? Free to make a mistake? Free to pursue the dream God laid on your heart? Free to see Jesus differently than you once did? Free to be loved?

a freedom story

The story is told of a merchant who lived long ago in a far away place. This man sank a post into the ground, tied a bunch of quail to it, and spent hours training the birds to march in a circle around that post. One day another man saw the poor birds and immediately

When you finally turn off the lamp at night and snuggle under the covers with a sigh, how do you measure the value of your day?

Often we use worn-out measuring sticks to gauge our success. We might hold up a ruler that says “what I accomplished” or “how I helped others” or “where I served Jesus.” We squint at our measuring stick, hoping it will show us how well we’re doing . . . worried it might prove we fell short.

But what if life in grace means doing away with old measuring sticks?