This is my favorite song as of late. It’s called Oyster Shell by Porter’s Gate Worship. Honestly, instead of reading my article this week, I’d recommend just listening to this song on repeat. But I’ll say a few words, if you’ll take a moment to read them. God’s Kingdom is like a grain of sand in an oyster shell, a plant growing in the crack of a sidewalk, and yeast in a batch of bread. These images help us see that God’s Kingdom often begins in the smallest places. In a worl

A lot of people start the year by setting goals. One friend of mine set a goal of reading 300 books. Another decided to run 700 miles. One chose to make 1,000 sweet treats. I’ll read and run and eat, but I’ll let them accomplish their own goals. Goals are good. They help us focus and find motivation. A good goal is one we can actually accomplish—and one that still stretches us beyond where we are right now. Meeting a goal like that serves us in two ways. First, there’s the ob

This weekend in Raleigh, something quietly powerful is happening. A walk! A group of Buddhist monks from Texas are passing through our city as part of a 120-day journey to Washington, DC. Step by step, they’re walking over 2,300 miles across 10 states, carrying a simple message: peace, loving-kindness, and compassion. They describe their walk this way: “We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us. The Walk for Peace is a simple yet mea