Merry Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas from the Nobles! This was our annual Christmas card. Each year, I repost on the blog to share with our digital friends and family. We hope you have a blessed Christmas centered on the Savior.

Lunch convos, Part 4

Another blog entry out of a conversation over a Mexican food lunch with friends this past August. If you are a fan of "The Bachelor," you may want to wash your hands after reading this.

Slow down, Christmas

Weeks before Thanksgiving, our culture jumps in the Christmas car and jams the accelerator down. Christmas decorations go on sale about Halloween, and we roar past Thanksgiving, barreling down upon December 25. Then we sit exhausted among leftovers and torn wrapping, wondering what happened, barely remembering the journey. Read along in my annual experiment to "slow down Christmas."

A friend’s faith journey: Phillip Slaughter, Part 1

Phillip Slaughter is the former campus minister at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He is also a great friend. Phillip has agreed to allow some of his recent posts about his faith journey be used here as guest blog. I encourage you to read along. This is the first of three entries.

Choosing Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. A national holiday. A mindset. A lean of the spirit into the eternal. I love this Thursday stillness. Coffee. Macy’s Parade on the TV. A house full of family. This has been a wild ride of a year. Who…

A personal retreat

I had never heard of the concept of a personal retreat until 1996. I had served as a campus minister in Arkansas for about a year when my boss encouraged me to take one. When I asked what he meant, he described it as simply a few days to be quiet, to rest, to pray, read and enjoy my relationship with God. I remember distinctly his encouragement to not get frustrated if I fell asleep on the first day and felt like I’d “wasted” a day. He said that sleep may be the most spiritual thing I do initially on a retreat.