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Hey Everyone,

If you have been subscribing to Coffeytalk and would like to continue to get my blogs I would like to invite you to subscribe through redlikeblood.com. We have made it easy to subscribe now.

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RED LIKE BLOOD

The website for the book is up and running. There are 11 new blog posts from me and another 11 from my co-author Bob Bevington. I think you will really like the way Bob thinks and writes. I will be blogging on the Red Like Blood website from now on so if you want to continue to get the blog I would encourage you to subscribe to it. Eventually I will come back to Coffey Talk but for now I will be focusing on redlikeblood. The blog of Red Like Blood is designed to be participatory so let us know what you think. Thanks for reading this blog, my hope is you'll like the new one too.

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Big News!

Hey everyone, I have news. It's not huge but it is something. I wrote a book. Actually I co-wrote a book with my good friend Bob Bevington. We had both read the book Blue Like Jazz and thought it was a great read but didn't talk about grace or the cross enough. Since the Gospel is the only thing with the power to change the human heart we decided to title our book Red Like Blood. The whole title was originally Grace Pouring Over Brokenness Always Flows Red Like Blood. A little too long but still a kicking title. It comes out in April and will be titled Red Like Blood with a subtitle of Confrontations With Grace. I like that too. Both titles fit the book because we believe grace is like a liquid in that it flows. Here is an excerpt along those lines,
"Grace is more of a liquid than a solid. I think most of us know that intrinsically which is why we say that grace flows. Solids are more passive. You can put something solid on a table and it will just sit there until you come back and move it. But a liquid is different. A liquid needs to be contained or it will run all over the place. Liquids are not passive. I had a small leak in a pipe in the upstairs of my house. Water made it all the way to my basement and by the time I noticed it was emerging in multiple places. In fact, there was no telling where the water had gone and what path it had taken. If there was even the tiniest opening the water slid through and kept going. Such is the nature of liquid. Grace is more liquid than solid. Once it is unleashed there is no telling how far it will go or where it will end up."
I love talking about grace. The subtitle Confrontations With Grace speaks to the violent nature of grace. If grace is a liquid than it needs a crack to get in. There is a brokenness that comes before grace. This book is full of stories of grace and brokenness. I think it is a fun read and I think it may help people really understand the nature of the most wonderful thing in the world. Next week I will be directing everyone on Coffeytalk to the Redlikeblood website to get my blog. I hope you don't mind. I think you will love the website if you have enjoyed the blog. That's my big news. As soon as the website is ready I will let you know. Until then, may grace flow into every crack of your cracked up life and may grace do the same in mine.

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The Rhythm of Life

The other day my wife was busy taking down all of our Christmas decorations. I was working on the first sermon of 2011 which is always about casting a vision for the year ahead. There is a definite rhythm of life and it is one of the great gifts from God. There is also something very deep about this rhythm. We had a wonderful Christmas season. My daughter and her husband were able to come up for nearly 2 weeks. We had 4, count 'em 4 generations under the same roof for some of that time. My mom and dad, myself and Karen, my daughter Rachel and her son Liam. It was a very sweet time. And as Karen takes down the decorations there is a certain sadness that sweeps over the house. The sweetness lingers but with it a certain longing. I sit with a yellow pad thinking about the year ahead for the year ahead stretches out like a snow covered field without a single mark as yet. It is a year pregnant with potential. Who knows what gifts or what challenges are ahead? And that is the rhythm. One door closes and another opens. If only the decorations came down the world would be too sad. If all was vision ahead then what sweetness would there be. Marv Weber, long time church member and friend, walked out into his garage on the last day of 2010. He had a heart attack and passed away on the floor of his garage. A door closed. Marv opened his eyes before the first day of 2011 in paradise. A sweetness lingers for he was loved by many here. But something new and fresh opened up for Marv and that field stretches out for all eternity. It is the rhythm of life. It is more than that. It is the rhythm of God Himself. And as I stand at the cusp of a new year it makes me profoundly thankful. Enjoy the beat of the year. God is the one who provides the rhythm you live by so be thankful.