Inspired by the Beatitudes…

Blessed are those who stub the toe of their life while stumbling through darkness.

Blessed are those who feel like they’re drinking expired milk on a hot day.

Blessed are those who need a big hug more than a big finger.

Blessed are those who are climbing a mountain of ice with no tread left on their shoes.

Blessed are those who want to put a giant band-aid on the wounds of this world.

Blessed are those who never feel at home.

Blessed are those who’ve been rejected by the establishments.

Blessed are those whose hearts have been shattered and can’t seem to find all the pieces.

For YOU are exactly who Jesus came for.

“Do I Know You?” is a guidebook I created with new couples in mind.  It contains nearly 200 questions designed to spark conversation about the stuff of life and love. Some of the questions run deep, others are whimsical, yet all are meant to help couples know one another better.

This guide is what you make of it. It isn’t rocket science nor does it contain all the answers, but if a couple is honest, open, and takes their time, it can be quite beneficial.

It’s fun too!  In fact, going through these questions make for some interesting date nights and discussions. While it was created for engaged couples, I’ve discovered that it’s even helpful for already-married couples. You could use them to see how well your mate knows you and how well you know your mate.

And I’m making this resource available for free!

Why? Because I want to help couples and those who mentor couples.  What can I say? I’m a sucker for love.

To download the pdf, simply click image below. Feel free to share, email, Twitter, Facebook, print, whatever you want. All I ask is that you keep it in tact and give credit where credit is due.

Enjoy!

Churches should be like bars and keep an endless supply of grace on tap.

To a parched world, this life often feels like you’ve been working atop a roof on a scorching, hot day.

Churches can either offer an ice cold drink of grace…

Some warm, sour milk of religion…

Or nothing at all.

Too many offer the latter options.

We need more who offer the first.

Churches are to be paragons of grace.

What is the church but a people united by the gospel of grace found in Jesus?

On the cross, the keg of God’s grace was tapped and is available to all.

Forever overflowing into the empty steins of our lives and churches for a reason:

To receive it and share with others.

People can find better products and services elsewhere.

But no one and nothing should outgrace us!

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” - John 20:24-29

This passage is infamous for revealing Thomas’ turn from doubt to belief.

However, there’s another implication that’s just as significant.

Hidden within this narrative is a profound nugget of truth, that if comprehended, could change the way we think about suffering.

The scene is of a post-crucified, risen Jesus who has returned in his glorified body but it contains something peculiar:

Scars.

This is a mind-blowing notion to entertain in our imaginations.

The victorious Messiah, Jesus, came back with a scar!

What?

Huh?

So?

Jesus was an opened wound on the cross.

He then died and was buried in a tomb.

Three days later, the tomb couldn’t contain him.

He rose again.

Jesus was a healed scar upon his return.

We all have scars, seen and unseen.

Often, we’re ashamed of them and feel disfigured because of them.

But here’s the profound truth:

There’s a big difference between a wound and a scar.

Wounds need healing.

Scars reveal healing.

There was nothing wrong with Jesus’ resurrected body.

Yet he left the scar.

I believe Jesus intentionally left the mark (scar) for our benefit.

His scar was a storybook of his pain…and his healing.

The same is true of us.

Our scars aren’t tales of tragedy; they are tales of triumph.

Because something has been healed.

So don’t waste your scars.

Embrace them.

And when you come across someone who has the wound you once had, show them your scar, and tell your story.

That might be just the thing they need in their story of healing.

My wife almost bought me a t-shirt that said, “Mess with me and you mess with the whole trailer park.” I wish she would have. I hold fond memories of those trailer tribes.

In the trailer parks I lived in, traditional families were rare. Single mothers like mine worked two or three jobs and this left kids like me unsupervised and alone. However, the families that did exist often kept watch over the rest of us and what few men there were became patriarchs of the trailer park. If there were any problems, the men came out from under the hoods of their trucks to make sure peace was kept in our little slice of America. But they couldn’t stop our biggest threat to tranquility: tornadoes.

Twisters gravitate to trailers like preteen girls to Justin Beiber. Most parks I lived in as a child had a communal shelter where everyone gathered when a funnel cloud formed. Those subversive cellars became a redneck haven- packed with people, toolboxes, shotguns, dogs, cigarettes, and a single radio to keep tabs on the storm.

During tornado season, we’d make regular trips back and forth to the shelter. In the midst of it all, a common bond was created among the trailer tribe. The kind that happens when a group of people go through a shared ordeal together. I loved it. Ironically, I felt safer underground in the center of the storms than I did above ground on sunny days. Not only that, my craving to belong was satisfied. If only for a little while.

It’s fascinating how all people, in all times, and all cultures, form societies. We do this partly for protection, but mostly, I think, we do it to be connected with one another. It’s a deep-seeded need we all carry.

In his book, Eternal Echoes, Irish Philosopher John O’Donohue writes, “Everyone longs for intimacy and dreams of a nest of belonging in which one is embraced, seen and loved. Something within each of us cries out for belonging. We can have all the world has to offer in terms of status, achievement and possession, yet without a true sense of belonging, our lives feel empty and pointless. Like the trees that puts roots deep into the clay, each of us needs the anchor of belonging in order to bend with the storms and continue toward the light.”

Follow the longing to belong far enough and you will arrive at its source.

This is one of the reasons I believe in God.