February 4, 2020 DAILY READINGS2 Corinthians 4:1-12Psalm 119:105-112 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 FIELD NOTES Is there anything worse than the feeling of hopelessness?  I am hard-pressed to think of a worse feeling.  And yet, unfortunately, all of us will eventually be in that space.  Eventually we all find ourselves in a moment where the odds…

February 3, 2020 DAILY READINGSRomans 11:2-10Psalm 119:105-112 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 FIELD NOTES This sobering passage reminds us of this simple truth: we are not special.  Sometimes our desires for ourselves cloud our view of those around us.  We let jealousy, and really, our own sense of superiority dim us to the light of those…

January 25, 2020 DAILY READINGS Luke 19:1-10 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 FIELD NOTES The story of Zacchaeus is so loved and so popular that it will appear in almost every children’s bible. My toddler has a bible with only about a dozen stories in it. Zacchaeus is one of them – alongside creation, Noah’s Ark,…

January 24, 2020 DAILY READINGS Romans 12:1-8 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 FIELD NOTES Romans 12:3 says, “Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you.” And the next few verses remind us that not only do…

January 23, 2020 DAILY READINGS Luke 17:20-21 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 FIELD NOTES One time, I was sitting at a red light on my way to a local coffee shop. I was listening to the radio and waiting for it to turn green when I got rear-ended. My first thought was, “I really don’t have…

January 22, 2020 DAILY READINGS Matthew 5:1-11 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 3:18 FIELD NOTES Ah, the Beatitudes. They are so familiar. At the same time, so comforting and so complicated. So today, I think it might be worth re-reading. Read through the beatitudes again, this time Eugene Peterson’s Message translation and see if you hear them…

January 21, 2020 DAILY READINGS Psalm 145:4-9 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 3:18 FIELD NOTES This psalm is full of praise to God. This is a psalm filled with “WOW!” Entire generations will be filled with awe at God’s mighty acts. They will marvel at God’s splendor and majesty, thinking about all the good things God has…

January 20, 2020 DAILY READINGS Romans 12:9-21 This weekend’s reading:Ecclesiastes 3:18 FIELD NOTES Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A day we remember a giant of the faith. A day we remember how far the Civil Rights Movement he led moved us forward. And also a day we remember how far we have yet…