The evangelical world is a spiritual paradox. We are the most biblically informed and least spiritually committed Christians in world history. Just Thinking will help you connect relationally with your Creator, your core, and your community.

This is a book about passion, strength, fear, hope, family, friends, and more. It is a book that gives us a look into one man's mind and heart. This is only a small part of his short and long life, but it's a life he's willing to share. And as with most books, you're guaranteed to take something of value from it.

Life is messy. Sometimes, we lose touch with God in the mess, but usually, he is found in the mess. Over a period of forty years as a pastor, I have had to deal with families in distress, children who were unmanageable, divorces, suicides, racism, men and women who have sought release from toxic religion, religious bigotry, Christian judgmentalism, tragic loss of loved ones, disenchantment with organized religion, and youth and adults who wavered between faith and doubt and feeling guilty about it. I have had conversations with atheists and agnostics who were interested in spirituality but could not find a church or a form of Christianity that would listen to their stories and their struggle to find peace outside themselves. I have stood next to hospital beds, watching patients slowly lose touch with life and reality. These short stories represent God winks I received when thinking about the raw edges of life, stories sprinkled with both humor and honest reflection.

I WAS JUST THINKING was written for the young, but is actually for those of all ages. We are never too old or too young to begin to develop the skill of choosing our best thoughts. The examples given are common events that happen to most of us at some time or another; but the way we deal with these events is the difference between feeling successful or defeated. Imagine this important skill, that we continue to develop over a lifetime, as an early seed being planted not only in the minds but in the hearts of our young ones. For when something drops from the mind into the heart, it becomes something we know for sure and ours to keep. Help empower your child! Imagine the adult they can become!

First published in 2007 with the title: I thought it was just me: women reclaiming power and courage in a culture of shame.

A selection of short stories and inspirational poems