Chris Tomlinson's Blog: Crave Something More, page 8

I Write In Order To…

I write at this blog in order to create a platform to be read more widely.  I want a larger platform in order to provide me with a sense that my life and my work have value.  I want this sense of value in order to satisfy my longing for joy in life.

In short, I write for the wrong reasons.

In God's Passion For His Glory, John Piper teaches us:

The essence of authentic, corporate worship is the collective experiment of heartfelt satisfaction in the glory of God, or a trembling that we do not...

Feeling Dry?

Ever feel spiritually dry? Bone dry?  Scorching hot desert heat dry?  I'm not sure I care much about my faith dry?  If you're a writer, you won't feel like writing.  If you're a singer, you won't feel like singing.  The joy isn't there.  Neither is the fruit.

I've been a Christian long enough to know there are peaks and valleys, days in green pasture and days in the desert.  I also know the automatic solution to being in the desert isn't always more prayer and more Scripture.  Drawing near to ...

God Is…

God is…

…Sovereign, because all things hold together in Him.

…Foremost, because all things exist for Him.

…Supreme, because no gods or men compare to Him.

…Above all things, because nothing exists apart from Him.

…Majestic, because He reigns over all.

…Glorious, because He is eminently worth celebrating.

…Holy, because there is no impurity in Him.

…Merciful, because He delights to forgive.

…Just, because He esteems truth.

…Personal, because He lives in His redeemed.

…Infinite, because He cannot be...

Life Is Really Short

I keep having these thoughts that life seems so terribly short.  They come most frequently first thing in the morning, and they are lightning bolt type thoughts—bright, powerful, elusive, and momentary.  I've been having these thoughts for several months now, and I realize I don't yet know how to full put these thoughts into words.  I find them like a dream—vivid in memory and emotion, but hard to articulate clearly.

There's some connection between these thoughts and my growing realization...

Keep Asking Why

I have started to read The End For Which God Created The World by Jonathan Edwards, and I realize I am in for a difficult read.  But I am also immediately reminded of a behavior we see in children every day that we should seek to emulate:  the constant question of "why?"

I don't have any children yet (at least one that can talk), but I suspect my daughter and I will have a conversation in a few years which will end with me saying something and her saying, "Why?"  To which I'll respond with...

Losing Our Perfect Games

If you are a Major League pitcher, you dream about pitching in the World Series, winning the Cy Young, or pitching a perfect game.  That's the pinnacle of your career.  That's your ticket to the history books; perhaps even to the Hall of Fame.

If you follow baseball at all, or if you witnessed Detroit radio host Paul Edwards' near-heart attack on Twitter on Wednesday night, you now know the names Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga.  Galarraga, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, threw a perfect...

Writing As a Ministry

My friend Ed Cyzewski recently wrote a blog series on Writing As a Ministry, and he asked me if I would share a few thoughts on this well, which I'm more than happy to oblige.  As a reader, you may also be a writer, or you may be a mom, or a pastor, or in business, or a carpenter, or a student, or any number of occupations.  But I invite you to consider why you do what you do and whether you consider what you do as a ministry or not.

I would love to say that I write books and this blog purely...

To Will or Not to Will

I love books.  Books allow us to enter the hearts and minds of others with different experiences in different times and think our own thoughts through theirs.  Sometimes we find words that we've felt but could not describe; other times we're faced with thoughts we've never thought before.

I've been reading The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink (1886-1952), and the book is giving me a lot to think about.  Pink speaks with the royal, editorial "we," which is always a good time.  But he is also...

As Prejudice Gives Way

I recently watched this video from a generation past about prejudice.  Teacher Jane Elliot used a simple experiment with the students in her classroom to teach them about the nature and consequence of bias, and the results of her experiment were shocking in one sense and not surprising in another.  You will watch this video and be stunned by the speed with which the prejudice of the human heart is revealed.

This is a video worth watching for a number of reasons:

It makes its point in parable...

The Practice of Prayer in the Throne Room of God

Have you ever practiced something for 24 years before realizing you're still not very good at it? If it were golf, I would have sold the clubs in a garage sale for $15 years ago.  If it were guitar, I would have long since burned my Takamine in a men's retreat campfire.  Yet I've been practicing prayer for more than two decades, and I'm amazed at how little I still know of this discipline.

We can think of this kind of practicing from another perspective. Can you imagine being a coach of...