Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lay Down Your Future: a small-group session

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Carl Simmons

This  session is based upon the following past devotionals—refer back, or forge ahead at yr discretion (the one place you’ll need to re-read is hyperlinked): Lay Down Your Anxiety Lay Down Your Doubt Lay Down Your Goals Lay Down Your … Continue reading →

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…Because He First Loved Us

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Carl Simmons

The premise of William Smith’s latest book is a simple but profound one: We can only love others as well as we can receive and recognize Jesus’ love for us. The rest of the book is a matter of learning … Continue reading →

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Lay Down Your Fears

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Carl Simmons

A great deal of the sin in our lives is little more than a lame attempt to “protect” ourselves from the possibility of being sinned against. Whether it’s a pre-emptive strike or a full-scale retreat, we’ll do just about anything … Continue reading →

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It’s a Church PLANT, Not a Church PLAN

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Carl Simmons

If you know anything about me, you know that church plants are near and dear to my heart. And if you know anything about church plants, you know that no two are alike, no matter what books on church planting … Continue reading →

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Lay Down Your Expectations

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Rather than attacking this idea from the front—and our previous rumination on goals and plans hit on many of the ideas inherent in this idea already—I’d like to approach today’s meditation from a different angle. Over the last several years, … Continue reading →

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Lay Down Your Goals

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Let’s return to the idea of us “taking things out of God’s hands” through our own control issues—and specifically, through the plans and goals we lay out for ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with having plans and goals for our lives. … Continue reading →

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Spiritual Rhythms in Solitude

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Carl Simmons

This one’s more a brief journal piece, but worth sharing. As promised a few weeks back, I’m working my way through Keith Meyer’s Spiritual Rhythms in Community. The Week 3 assignment was to watch, reflect, on, and preferably discuss the … Continue reading →

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Lay Down Your Doubt, Part 2

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Carl Simmons

In the first part of this devotional, posted way back when, we looked at how our anxiety expresses itself in doubt and in trying to “control” the situation apart from God. Sometimes, however, we already know things are out of … Continue reading →

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Lay Down Your Love (Retreat Session 4)

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Throughout the course of this retreat, as promised, you’ve been exposed to—and sometimes thrown into in—just a few of the spiritual disciplines. But the fact is, every spiritual discipline is a form of worship. It’s a way of being intentional … Continue reading →

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Past the Beauty, and to The Beautiful

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Carl Simmons

It starts kind of slow, but bear with it. Because, after all, this book is about slowing down enough to recognize God’s reflection in all of creation—as well as in our own creations, as we too reflect the Creator. Steve … Continue reading →

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