I just realized the reason we call our devotions devotions is because we’re expressing devotion to God when we do our devotions.  This is the kind of brilliance you should come to expect here at Crave Something More.

This all makes sense.  Setting aside a part of our day to focus on our relationship with God, to read His word, to hear from Him, to confess to Him, to share with Him, are all expressions of a loyal, affectionate commitment to God.  We’re telling Him:  You are important to me, and I want to spend time with you.

Of course, active devotion to God, the kind where we pick up our cross to follow after Jesus, is far more than the part of our day we set aside to focus on our relationship with God.  This kind of devotion consumes and permeates the fullness of our lives.  We live and breathe His word as we walk each step in His presence.

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I receive a new book to review almost every day; usually three or four. I am glad I am loved, but it can be overwhelming. There is no way I have space to include reviews of all these titles in Bible Study Magazine, so I have to choose which ones will make the cut. I also have to choose which ones get to stay in my office at the end of the year. And then I have to apologize to the rest of the books that get moved to a lonely shelf somewhere else. (Sorry my friends. Just because you are exiled doesn’t mean I don’t love you.)

This year, spring came early in “the city of subdued excitement,” Bellingham, Washington. This meant it was time for some old friends (my books) to get the boot. Time to let Recyclops, Dwight Schrute, move them to the lonely, nomad shelf. (I really moved them with the help of my buddy Phil Gons, who is a Marketing Manager at Logos Bible Software where we both work.)

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The response to the release of the Apologetics Study Bible for Students has really been encouraging and overwhelming. I knew there was a pressing recognition of the need for apologetics in youth ministry, but I had no idea now much. I received this email from a youth pastor this week and was deeply moved by it. Check it out:

"I'm one of the youth leaders at our church, and I'm in between a couple of Sundays where I'm giving the message during the youth service. I'm taking the opportunity to introduce the students to apologetics, and the response so far has been more enthusiastic than I'd anticipated, which gladdens my heart to no end.

"At first I was simply happy to see the arrival of the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, but then God laid it on my heart to take action, so my wife and I are using a chunk of our tax refund to purchase 35 copies to give out to our youth during an upcoming Wednesday night function. In price shopping around the Internet, my wife discovvered a promotional video you did for the Bible at Lifeway.com. I'm going to show that video to the kids before unveiling the surprise.

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In December, I worked on publishing a book of poetry written by L.L. Barkat, whose memoir, Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places, came out in 2008. Ms. Barkat and I met early last year, when I sang at her church in NY, and at that time she gave me a copy of her book. When we next connected, she was becoming a more intentional patron of the arts, encouraging others to get involved with International Arts Movement (a movement I am part of) and make the arts a bigger part of their lives. When she came to IAM with a collection of poetry, we were delighted to publish it as the first of (hopefully) many books that embody IAM's commitment to filling the world with cultural artifacts that are good, true and beautiful.

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***UPDATE*** Tiger releases statement: "I have let my family down & I regret those transgressions w/ all of my heart ... I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology."  

There is a Thanksgiving hangover and it involves the media’s indulgence over Tiger Woods. I’ve never seen so much speculation and infatuation over a driveway accident. Sadly, the media frenzy has only just begun.

Every gossip site is milking this story for every ounce of traffic it can attain, and although most respectable news sites are holding off from making it A-1 material, one can’t imagine a cage made of human interest holding off a Tiger-sized story.

Several sites have claimed that Tiger has had a long affair with a former waitress, who allegedly has a voicemail and some texts to prove it. A Chinese news report even featured an animated re-enactment of the Tiger Woods incident (which is laughable not only in its poor quality, but in that they have Tiger attempting to drive off in a van).

If any of the speculations prove to be true, most people will wonder how in the world a man who has it all—money, fame, beautiful wife, healthy kids, adoration from fans, respect of many—risk it all for a tryst? Most of us would like to believe that with a billion dollars handy and the world as our stage we wouldn’t screw it up, but we’ll never have the opportunity to fail (or succeed) in those extremes. So, naturally, we project how we would have handled things on someone we don’t even know.

Sure, Tiger’s richer than all the readers of this site combined, but that doesn’t make this circumstance any less painful and any less difficult to navigate. He has a marriage to fight for, kids to protect, a job to maintain and partnerships to uphold. Whether he fabricated a story, cheated, lied or all of the above, no one knows the extent of the story better than Tiger himself.

Known as one of the most stoic and secretive sports figures, Tiger is suddenly facing his worst nightmare. It is a lonely jungle he’s traversing through, and I want to hope for something great to come out of this. I want Tiger to fight for his family, his legacy and his reputation as a role model for the next generation of golfers. I want Tiger to shock the media world and turn their indulgence for negative press into intervention for positive change. If I’m being honest, 12 hours ago I wasn’t even thinking about Tiger the person. I was just another set of eyeballs on the Internet scouring for the latest news on the collapse of a modern icon. Then it hit me, Tiger is just a man. A sentiment I discussed in my most recent post.

Life, like golf, is not just about how you begin on the front nine, it is all about how you finish on the back nine. Tiger has hit some major roughs and if there’s one thing we can all agree about real life is that mulligans are rarely offered. And as if I haven’t already used every golf metaphor in the book, excuse me as I continue. People describe the game of golf as more mental than it is physical. One’s ability to keep the outside distractions at bay determines the success on the golf course, and no one performed better under intense pressure than Tiger Woods. This is easily the toughest course he’s ever faced.

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Donald Miller stopped by ConversantLife to talk about his latest book 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years."

Donald Miller visits ConversantLife | podcast from

I know very little about poetry.  Except for the smattering of T. S. Elliot and Edgar Allan Poe in high school, the limericks I read as a kid on the elementary school restroom stalls, and the occasional forays into bad haiku, I really don't know much about it.

There is a young lady at our church, a poet.  In fact, she is such a good poet, she can actually call herself a poet and nobody seems to think that is odd in any way.

I asked her to explain poetry to me once, and her response was a little mind blowing.  She patiently explained that the intent of the arts is to express ideas and emotions that cannot be expressed using words.  The thing about poetry is that you have to use words to express that which cannot be expressed using words.  So the poet employs forms and devices like rhythm, alliteration, metaphor, simile, and other stylistic elements to achieve their art.

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