“The whole outlook of mankind might be changed if we could all believe that we dwell under a friendly sky and that the God of heaven, though exalted in power and majesty, is eager to be friends with us.”
— A.W. Tozer
Welcome to our blog page. The content here, up through the year 2022, was originally posted on my personal blog/website (chrisdeman.com). As God continues to lead us into different ways of being spiritually formed, our creative outlets have also transitioned. So, we’re simplifying into one web presence. We hope that you find encouragement, challenge, a bit of humor, and honest reflection on our experience with God in the commonplace.
Just Wait a Minute
I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life. A common expression here is, “If you don’t like the weather now, just wait a minute.”
Who Else?
I’ve spent a lot of time in school. Like most people, I was required to assimilate and regurgitate information. I’ve learned arithmetic, the parts of speech, capitals, countries, continents, and species of flora. Buried in my brain is The Periodic Table, multiplication tables, and the chemical formula for table salt. I can still recite the first few lines of the prologue to The Canterbury Tales in Middle English: “Whan that aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of march hath perced to the roote...” Oh, the trauma!
A Necessary Ending
It’s winter in West Michigan, and despite the mildness of this particular cycle the grey days and shortened daylight hours can be difficult. To provide respite in the midst of our deep mid-winter…
An Advent of Becoming
It’s been a long slog through jack-rabbit starts and anti-locked stops. Back roads and main roads and residential roads. Blind spot blindness and forgetful signaling. Missed turns and tight turns but always (fingers-crossed) a safe return.
Opening Voids
Some quickly said, “I’m in!” Others needed time to ponder the consequences. And there was one who said, “I won’t do that, but I will do something.”
My family’s pre-Lenten agreements about eliminating, minimizing, or committing to a daily practice for six weeks was a profitable dialogue.
I Felt That
It's fine!
“It’s fine.”
That phrase was added to our family lexicon this past year. It’s been used in various ways, from the casual, “How’s the soup?” (It’s fine) to “How’s the paper on Ancient Rome coming along? (It’s fine) to ending sibling squabbles with an emphatic, “It’s fine!”
What's the Point?
The molecular composition of sodium bicarbonate. How to factor a quadratic equation. What the acronym TVA represents.
Random bits of high school learning still seared into memory, seemingly useless other than for an occasional Jeopardy question.
Be
Just ‘be.’
I’ve heard that suggestion many times, particularly when I’m tangled in too much ‘doing.’ Yet beyond knowing that I’m a human ‘being’ and can ‘be’ in a place, what does it mean to ‘be’ (or not)?
Perfectly Scripted
For one hour each week, everyone in the room had to acknowledge my amazingness. For sixty minutes I lived in celebrity. Elevated and set apart from every other classmate. I was a fourth-grade prodigy. Not of math or music or English, but penmanship.
Sweet Mary
In the dark of my desk drawer is a birthday card…
Fretting for Faith
The sky glowed muted orange with the rising sun. The August air was seasonally cool. Nestled among hardwoods and sparse growing conifers, our group woke with rejuvenated excitement…
Birds, Bees, and Burgers
Strange terms, fresh imaginings, embarrassed moments and puzzled looks. And for some extra intrigue, a batch of fried pickles…
Getting Schooled at VBS
I guess after three years you could call it tradition. My family is now in the routine of spending the last week of June serving at a Vacation Bible School. Just today we closed the books on a week packed with fun, sweat, wonder, singing, crafts and a multitude of juice boxes. Of course all those things played second fiddle to God’s Word. It was wonderfully exhausting!
My Dynamic Duo
One thing I savor with the onset of colder weather is the chance to hunker-down. To pull out the hoodies and fleeces, as well as extra blankets for the bed. It’s hard to beat a crisp night, a good book, a sweetened cup of coffee and my wife on the couch beside me. Such moments are rare in our home. Five children and a heat-sucking, parasitic dog provide plenty of sabotaging moments. Nevertheless, I cling to my dreams.