Living in the Pain of the Gap

Awhile back, in a message, Brian spoke about “living in the pain of the gap”.  This referred to the Kingdom of God where we live in the “already and the not yet”.  God’s Kingdom is […]

Questions for Contemplation

I have found questions help me think through most matters and often a variety of options. Questions can be a great deal of help between the time we see an opportunity or problem, and the […]

Joy

This morning I was thinking about joy. The joy of a new day, a new sunrise. The joy of a kind word and a smile  on a hard day from a stranger. The joy my […]

Pruning

I was reading Henri Nouwen the other day about pruning. Pruning means cutting, reshaping, removing what has diminished vitality in our lives. Nouwen said that grateful people learn to celebrate even amid life’s hard and […]

Love your Neighbor as Yourself

Philipians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.  NIV One of the things I love about Jesus is His humility and love of all people—to […]

Rest!/ ¡Descansa! (Bilingual

Lately, I have found myself running from here to there with no time to spare. I feel that I rush my quiet time. I feel like time is getting ahead of me, so I have […]

Quiet Time 2.0

Meeting with Jesus early to spend sweet time with Him was a non-negotiable habit for me. I couldn’t imagine this would ever change, since I was an early riser by God’s design. Well, life has […]

Daily Examen

St. Ignatius created something he called the “Daily Examen” many years ago, to create a “cleansing, thanking, and evaluating” time for each day.  It is a set of simple questions to help us see the […]

Thermometer or thermostat

Are you a thermometer or are you a thermostat? Both devices deal with temperature, but their uses are different. A thermometer simply reflects the temperature, but a thermostat actually determines the temperature. A thermostat can […]

A Shout Out to our VCNP staff and volunteers.

Henri Nouwen once said, “Community is where humility and glory touch. However, community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves […]