Wayfarer

Along this life journey, I also encounter moments when I feel pinned down by circumstances stacked against me. There are times when I feel like I'm stumbling around with the darkness closing in. I have flashes when my prayer feels like Princess Leia's hologram. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 54. Text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

David wrote Psalm 14 to mean one thing during his life and his generation, but a subsequent generation took the same song, the same lyrics, and made it about another thing. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 54. Text version can found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

This morning I find in David an example to follow. Pouring out and expressing my rage, frustration, accusation and consciously handing over that which I am powerless to do to God. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 52. Text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

David did everything right. David was devout. David was faithful. David was sincere. David was God's man through-and-through...until he wasn't. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 51. Text version can be found/shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Mindlessly going through religious motions is of no real value, and I believe that this is one of the reasons why denominations are imploding and churches are closing in record numbers. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 50. Text version available at tomvanderwell.com.

Consider the fact that rich-and-poor, wise-and-foolish, good-and-bad all end up in the same place and leave everything behind. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 49. Text versions of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

In my spiritual journey, I've come to believe it vital to identify and regularly visit a thin place. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 48. Text versions of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

Enthronement is a big deal in the Great Story, but the metaphor has very personal implications. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 47. Text versions of all chapter-a-day podcasts can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

God's temple is me. How radically that changes the metaphor of refuge. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 46. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com.

In episode 9 of "The Beginner's Guide to the Great Story" we unpack the section known as "the epistles" or "letters." 

How on earth could you put together an anthology of the lyrics of 150 songs and not have at least one love song in it? A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 45. Text version can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

I am reminded this morning that in my spiritual journey I've had to work through all sorts of misguided notions of my own including those not unlike that of today's psalm. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 44. Text versions of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

Until the last few years, I never realized how self-centered my reaction to circumstances tended to be. When things don't go our way, when tragedy struck, or when we felt victimized I usually looked within for the resources I need, the answers to the situation, and the power to handle it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Psalm 43. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwe...

"Am I holding the tension of choosing to praise, trust, seek even as I wrestle with my own versions of despair and my own questions of 'Why'?" A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 42. Text version of all chapter-a-day podcasts can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

Jesus wanted His followers to behave as though today is the day that He will return and settle accounts on a grand, eternal scale; Not being so foolish as to not plan for the future, but being wise enough to live each day with the understanding that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my own spiritual journey, I've observed that Jesus is often quoted saying, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Never do I hear anyone quote the sentence Jesus said right before He said those words. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

Appetites are natural, but an unchecked lustful craving of that appetite which leads to indulgence will always end in corruption of some form. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com.

Personal betrayal is as old as Adam blaming Eve for talking him into eating the forbidden fruit, and Cane killing his brother Abel. Betrayal is a part of the human condition and is present in all of our great stories. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com .

Having eyes that see Spirit reality amidst physical circumstances. A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 40.

Sometimes I can so intoxicate my mind with endless distractions that I am not sober minded about significant matters of Life and Spirit. A chapter a day podcast on Psalm 39.

David is so sick that he’s left wondering what he did to bring on his ill-fortune. A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 38.

Sometimes things are simply right or wrong, other times it’s infinitely more complex. A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 37.

Some days, I just have to take my mind captive and allow it to be captivated by goodness of God.

What do artists do in response to powerful forces beyond their control? They create. They channel and express their emotions, even their most raw, painful, and socially unacceptable emotions, into their creative work. A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 35. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com

Knowing the story adds a layer of context to the song lyrics, which creates added meaning for me as I read or listen. A chapter-a-day podcast on Psalm 34. Text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can always be found at tomvanderwell.com