Last week I ran into a friend whom I hadn't seen for a while. His first comment was, "Bruce, you look content." I had to stop and think about it a bit, but on reflection I realize that he made a good observation.

In this season, I feel as though Psalm 23 is more of a reality than ever. And perhaps I am starting to live it more visibly. David wrote:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5a NIV)

My own paraphrase is something like this:

The invasion of Ukraine in recent days is not encouraging. Having recently authored a book on being a peacemaker, I find myself wondering about the motivation of the Russian leadership...

A pastor friend referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin as being completely amoral. Something in me balked at that statement. Although I strongly disagree with his actions and the values which I assume lie behind them; that is not the same as claiming that he has no morals. And so I wonder, what is the logic behind his values?

I was travelling much of October and November. Lots of impressions, but nothing that has yet crystallized into a blog entry. Many seem to be sensing that we are in a season of transition. And yet, they draw different conclusions about where that is taking us.

So I find myself waiting: "What is on your heart, Lord?"

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8 NIV)

As I have been talking with other leaders in our city, this verse seems to sum up what God is saying to our city in this time. Three things which, as I see it, build progressively...

This month, I have been reading Jeremiah.

Most of the book has a straightforward message: Destruction is coming. And yet, there is an underlying hope: I (God) am warning about destruction, in hope that you might change your ways so that I can relent.

Although I have read Jeremiah numerous times before, this time I noticed a pattern that had not previously caught my attention.

It seems to me that, in the 30+ years since I moved from the United States to Norway, there are two aspects of American culture which have become more extreme. At the least, I can't recall these things being so pronounced as I was growing up...

I spent a good portion of this weekend at a prayer and worship gathering in the ruins of a 12th century monastery. Part of the goal was to connect with the hundreds of years of prayers that have gone up from that place.

Today, I've had a long talk with a friend, whom I guess I would describe as disappointed. It's understandable. He and his family have had a lot thrown at them the past couple of years—in the realms of health, economics, relationships and more. And the engineer in me needed to keep being reminded to shut up, listen and not try to fix it.

My friend and I are in agreement that God is good. At least in principle. But, for him right now, it sure doesn't feel like God is  treating him very well.

My third book, The Call of the Child, was published this week. More than two years in writing, over a year finding a publisher, and nearly a year from submission to release—it is a pleasure to have this project finally come to fruition.

But what is it all about?

It is about two things, tightly interweaved but seldom thought of as connected. They are: Being a child, and being a peacemaker. Or, as Jesus put it:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
(Matt 5:9 NIV)

This week a former Minnesota police officer was convicted of murdering a man he was arresting. Sadly, it is not uncommon in our times for someone to die at the hands of a police officer. And yet, it is unusual that it would be called murder and that the trial would capture attention throughout the world. So this guilty verdict has been seen by many as a landmark decision.