Eagles Point

I cannot tell you how much I have considered the depths of marital commitment and investment in deep deliberation with God over the years. I came across the following and copied it for the most part. It's so good, I have to get it out here in some way. I cannot find the source anywhere, but I want to affirm that the way this is brought out is not original to me. I will be glad to update this post once/if I figure it out. Until then, let us be bold in our addressing the difference between a husband and a male spouse. This is meant to be a wake-up call to those of us who are not meeting the standard, and a sharpening instrument to those of us who are. Most Men Are Not Husbands—They’re Just Male Spouses Let’s talk like men. You think you’re a husband because you paid bride price? Because you signed a certificate? Because you show up to bed every night? You’re not a husband. You’re a male spouse. There’s a difference. 1. A Husband Is Already Dead Dead to pettiness. Dead to impulse. Dea...

I cannot stand this phrase. It is one of the small handful that give me the dumb chills ever since first hearing it. This word is going to sound less artistic and more informational, and it is intended to be applied to situations and people with filters and discretion, understanding that I am not addressing the whole of the scope of emotional behavior and reactivity. But for those situations to which this applies... Many of us may have heard people say that someone is "all up in their emotions" when that person is having a vulnerable moment. It may have been said about us at some point. Whether it be this particular phrase or something similar to it, it can sound a little demeaning to the vulnerable person, and it may come across as devaluing their feelings. We know that feelings can be based in things that aren't fully true, but the feelings themselves are valid and still must be worked through before correcting or addressing any truth or misinformation behind them. More...

God of the Broken... Finally. A place burrowed enough away from pondering eyes to be completely oneself, in all expression and brokenness. Who knew that this secret place with God today would be an automobile in a remote parking lot, shrouded enough by gray skies and rain to be hidden from anyone potentially nearby. This vehicle...I remember the gift it was from God just a few short years ago...now facilitating a most vulnerable moment with Him. This is the needful place right now. I could not be anywhere else if I tried. The clouds shed their tears on my behalf. They bounce off the windshield, pinging off the hood, softly tapping the metal with a perfect balance between gentle and firm. And in their own way, they make their way through the car, happening upon the soil of the heart. And all I can do is just sit. And be. Already emptied out, poured out, at least for now. If not for exhaustion, I could sit here for hours. With Him. Not just sitting with Him. Broken with Him. The Humble K...

There is at least a generation of people, if not a multigenerational trend, that have been trained by themselves and/or culture to sacrifice for something that does not love them. Whether a career, hobby, ministry, companion, boss. Inanimate or human, they use, mistreat, abuse...and with permission by the host. This epidemic leads to a great deal of fallout in the form of mental and emotional health issues, relational immaturity and depravity, and it affects people around them, especially those who care for them. They severely hamper their ability to receive and embrace true love when it comes by, even though they long for it with tears in the night watches. But in the day, when everyone is looking, the walls of Fort Knox erect around their hearts, with the decor of jadedness and cynicism, and transactionality instead of relationality in their connection with people. Are they truly content not experiencing the sweetness of deep communion with God and people? Or have they desensitized t...

For those who invest in people through what are known as the helping fields, there is a particularity about the approach to people in need that necessitates seeing everyone in the light of very equal value and worthiness of dignity and care. Engaging someone in any given setting includes the combination of 1) the traits of who they are, 2) how they perceive and feel about people similar and different from them, 3) any otherwise effects or impact of their experiences and beliefs, and with all this, 4) how they ultimately present and conduct themselves--and 5) all this interacting on some level with these same traits of our own. When conversing with a deeply valued friend about this, someone I trust significantly and with expertise in the area of helping, she made a statement that had a residual ring in my heart. She said that when we work with people, we have to care about everyone the same, no matter who or how they are. Off the top, this seems common sensical, albeit a helpful periodi...

True love will be there. When others don't show up. Even when you don't show up. True love sees you for who you are from the deep, from the innate. It sees your brokenness, that which has been done to you, and yes, that which you've done, that has yet to be healed. And it wants you anyway. It longs to cover you, to heal you, to free you. To just sit with you and hold you. True love sees who you are called to be, purely. It sees your beauty from the inside-out. Respects and treasures you. Knows you for who you really are. True love calls from its deep to the deep of your heart. Come to Me. I've been waiting for you. I don't want your kingdoms. I want you. True love never runs out. But time does. We can't afford to risk what isn't worth the risk. If you don't have tomorrow, which you may not, do you want true love today? Do you remember this is what we're made for? This is the substance of true life, of truly living? Are you operating from a deficit? W...

…me? There is a place, a depth, a core, so base that it has no need of cognizant thought or reasoning. A place of core existence that knows and is, as it is. This place has a need and life of its own, albeit the center and source of the whole of our being and existence. There are layers upon layers to our make-up, along with that which we add and is added to us. Life becomes more of an unlearning process than a learning process in the venture to get to and connect with who we really are. True identity is innate. But it's human nature to clutter the understanding of that identity with the topical layers. Things with which we have emotional attachment and bond make it a little less than easy to unlearn, peel back, surrender the external to get to the internal. And if or when we have tapped into the core of who we are, there is yet a surrender, a call to die, to give yet all again, from that place, and from that which is within that place, that essence of our being. One such article t...

We are not supposed to use paper towels and clothing to wipe our eyeglasses. It creates micro-scratches on the (ironically) scratch-resistant film that coats the lenses. Over time, the film breaks down and becomes cloudy. The lenses have to be replaced at that point. We need to use a clean microfiber cloth, with optional cleaning solution, when there are spots and blurs on our lenses. Wouldn't it be easy to just stop there, instead of peering inside and addressing the eyes of the heart? The wear and tear of life causes our vision to be fatigued and blurred, and in order to still see things accurately and not from the adverse aftereffects of our experiences, we need corrective lenses. Lenses that will help us to see things clearly, accurately, as they actually are. However, we've gotten a little unwittingly clever at doctoring those lenses. Even they can get tainted, distorted, damaged, or perhaps purposely painted with stained portraits of our own choosing. It takes a...

A worthwhile devotional that needs to be shared and heard in the heart, author unknown... Have you ever had a dream that died? Maybe it was a business idea that you just knew would make you millions. Maybe it was a dream romance that went downhill. Sometimes we don’t live happily ever after. Dreams don’t always come true. And to be honest, some dreams shouldn’t come true. But that doesn’t make them hurt any less when they shatter in front of our eyes. Dreamers are near to God’s heart — the Bible is full of them. Just because a few of your dreams have turned out to be nightmares doesn’t mean you should stop dreaming. But remember that your dream might have to die before it lives. In the Bible, the story of Joseph the dreamer ends with a happily ever after. But Joseph had to go through several death experiences to get there, including betrayal, slavery, years of hard work, and years in prison. I’m sure there were times he thought his life was over and all hope was lost. But w...

A vulnerable representation of the heart... How candid and purely real are we willing to be with ourselves? At a certain point, shouldn't we just stop facade-ing with our stained-glass mirrors? What if we found that place to be very plain with self and God? Being willing to be wrong, to confess self-servedness, to admit our need of meaningful relationship with people and God. To understand our desperate need of the Cross, and a Friend, all at the same time. Why do I write? Many of us may use it as a pressure relief valve of so much within that needs an outlet. Some of that may be passion, brokenness, loneliness, excitement, exploration, verbal processing, spiritual intimacy...or simply quaint pleasure and musing. One thing I do know, which I've observed in people near to my season of life: I just want someone to talk to. And, some one to talk to. It is of the deepest regions of the heart that this is penned. And so often do I/we/you/we/I feel misunderstood, miscateg...

A devotional from an insightful man worth sharing... Psalm 91:1 Many of us may be often seen as leaders—at work, at home, and even among friends. The pressure to always have the answers and be the one others rely on can leave us feeling depleted. Leadership doesn’t mean running on empty or ignoring your own need for renewal. True strength comes from leading with rest , rooted in God’s presence and power. Men are such instinctive “doers” and “fixers” that we tend to easily fill our lives with non-stop action. We have to train ourselves to slow down and be intentional about hitting “pause” in the busyness of life. We need to learn to sit still for a moment, long enough to reflect on God’s goodness and presence in our lives. In Psalm 46:10, God invites us to stop striving and “be still.” Stillness is not inactivity —it’s a deliberate pause to actively recognize that God is in control. When we quiet ourselves before Him, we remember that it’s not all up to us. Resting in God allows...

 A woman's testimony, cutting into the conversation... Well she made different relationships with each of my siblings and me. Treated each of us differently from the beginning. We all had different experiences with her. My youngest brother wasn’t made to do anything but what he wanted and with his bad behavior and poor choices he thought he deserved all her punishments and yelling. He can’t possibly imagine why any of us might have a different perspective. He never saw and doesn’t remember how she made me cook, clean, bathe him and our kid sister, work in the house and in the yard. He never had to. It blows my mind. I remember cramping so hard I had diarrhea and she made me mow the lawn on my one day off while my brothers played video games in the air conditioning. She was very different and particularly mean to me. The youngest brother would never know. And Mom knew what she was doing. I can’t imagine treating my child that way. I have taught her how to work hard and the value o...

A word worth sharing, given from a woman's perspective. Wisdom and insight, and undoubtedly experience speaking here... A healed man won't chase you, he'll pursue you, and there's a difference. He knows his worth and understands yours. His pursuit is respectful and intentional, filled with genuine care and affection. He approaches relationships with clarity and purpose, never with desperation or insecurity. A healed man communicates openly and honestly. He values transparency and believes in the power of honest conversations. His words are thoughtful and considerate, aimed at fostering mutual understanding and trust. He listens as much as he speaks, ensuring that both voices are heard and valued. A healed man embraces his past but doesn't let it define him. He has faced his wounds and learned from them, emerging stronger and wiser. His experiences have shaped him, but they do not control him. He moves forward with a sense of peace and acceptance, ready to build a fu...

Many of us have heard of 'tough love', 'speaking the truth in love', and the like. Perhaps often misunderstood or not mirroring its biblical roots. It was never meant to be a license to put jagged edges on the truth as we speak it. The context of love where truth is expressed infers the laborious building of charity and grace in healthy relationship, one with mercy and boundaries in tandem balance, resulting in what would even be a stable home wherein the relationship abides. And then, from this very place, loving truth may be clearly spoken with gentle tone, such that the strength of expression and the arm of action doing the work is the truth itself, not the intensity of the person expressing it. And all that said...there is yet a tougher love. What is the greatest commandment? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Greater love has no man than thi...

Faith as of a child. Years of work, hurt, life, love, loss...causing the garden of the heart to be barren, dried up, hardened. Situations and responsibilities keeping us from getting back to deep cultivation, weeding, caretaking. But there may come a moment, a divine intersection, that affords the opportunity to revisit neglected fields, unearth lost treasures, and once again till the crusted soils within. Places that were long abandoned, avoided, disregarded, from recent situations all the way back to childhood. It will take months to come to deeper places of intentional surrender in these areas...surrender to God's desire and ability to heal, love, embrace, empathize personally...and restore. But and so though, let us do the intentional, daily due diligence of seeking, surrendering, re-processing as the Wonderful Counselor leads, and allowing the soil of the heart to be loved again, nourished again, cared for again, softened and made alive again! How wonderful it is to re-tender ...

First of all, I do not like that I am writing. I do not want to have to be writing. I am not a scripteure of choice. Yes, the artist does need the channel of expression, but writing is confining, narrowing to this one...a tedious test of verbal painting with substant diction a picture so vivid and textured, that the reader can run his or her hands across the page and feel it. A tediousness that this artist has become wearied by in the advent of discovering broader avenues of pouring out from deep, overflowing caverns within. Nonetheless, here we are, wherein this composition postures as expedient and therapeutic to current due processing of that which lies within. So, we thusly embrace the point of the journey at which we find ourselves, and soak every bit of intimacy with God He has for us in these moments. And especially when our heart longs to be somewhere else. We cannot healthily live non-present in our present. Whether the external circumstances, or where we are within, if there ...

And there it was. A call made, a discussion had, and it was good and it was well. In the past, it would have gone a lot differently. Rooted in fear, inordinate worry over people's feelings, and decision-making based in poor personal boundary maintenance. All centered in ever-subtle, unwillingly-denoted codependency. While exhibiting itself in a variety of ways from person to person, my own experience reveals that it masquerades as compassion, care, thoughtfulness, sensitivity to people's feelings and needs, and willingness to sacrifice. For years, decades, growing and living in an internal culture of self-absorption and genuine care for God and people, inconveniently woven together with desires of home, career and ministry coupled with an almost-inability to facilitate any of them. Why? And how? A very particular area, in my case, of lacking surrender and trust. And the vice grip I maintained on this coveted dream vice-gripped my life from its full potential and expression. An...

Another word. Another conference. Another season. Another claimed endeavor or work or promise from the hand of the Lord. I remember the days...there was a time in the early 90's when it became very popular to want to be a prophet and/or have prophetic words given and received. It started with a few out there popularly, and spread amongst certain denominations and circles, to where so many across the Western Church were claiming to be such. Since then, so much has transpired in this realm, whether genuine, authentic, off the mark, or outright hijacked. But one thing that has seemed to be lacking is a preparation of biblically-balanced guidance and instruction on the prophetic, and manifestations of the Spirit in general, including accountability, which I really want to talk about. Firstly, we may have a variety of definitions of the phrase 'gifts of the Spirit'. So I'll stick to how the Bible defines these things, according to 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, and Ephesian...

It has been more than a while since I have written. From the open doors and concluded seasons, to just the plain tediosity of sitting down to write, for me, I have not found myself with the interest to do this very much. However, for some reason, I feel the urge to log a recent dream here with brief introspection. I am grateful for the variety and vividness of my dreams, especially the many and regular action ones. They are like fascinating movies, sometimes with several scenes, that span quite a time when actually laying them out, that I wish I could bring into natural form. Well, here is one of them, not nearly as long but intriguing nonetheless... It was a sunny afternoon outside a very nice building with a lot of pavement and at least a second story of outside balcony and stair access to living quarters, which turned out to be a two-plus story hotel/motel. A lady in a red dress to her knees with a thin black belt and black short-handled bag-sized purse was being harassed by some gu...

From an anonymous but generally unanimous source. Because surely this is happening to more than just one person. Are you tired of people not being ready? Whenever you reach out, inquire, want to search out an opportunity, a connection, or moving towards something special? They are always "really busy", their schedule always seems to be "really full", or they have "a lot going on"? We are told that we are supposed to try to connect with people, organizations, ministries, to collaborate, work together, get initiatives initiated...but everyone is too busy or otherwise unavailable. In other words, it feels like everyone is uninterested, or they are stuck in their present tense. The tension of family and work and responsibilities, and perhaps a thick layer of enjoyment of late adulthood freedom as an unattached person after having gone through semi-traumatic experiences. Where does that leave an available, genuinely good person who wants to serve, get into good...