• About Bruce

    A web programmer by day, I somehow still spend a lot of time thinking about relationships, God, and the significance of grace and love in daily events. I am old school in the sense that I believe in the reality of sin, and in the need of each human heart for deliverance to the Divine. I am one of those who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that you can find most answers to life's pressing issues in Him and His Word, the Bible. I ain't perfect, and a lot of the time I ain't good, but by God's grace and kindness, I am forgiven and free.

    What is the Gospel?

    by  •  • GraceThoughts • 0 Comments

    The Gospel is first described in the New Testament as the message that Jesus and his followers shared with those they encountered about the Kingdom of God. “It is near”, they said. It’s also the message that Paul says his life was set apart for, that inspired his missionary journeys, his work with Gentiles,...

    Read more →

    When Your Small Group Doesn’t Grow

    by  •  • LifeStuff • 0 Comments

    It seemed to start well enough. Our church campus at Highland started two years ago. After about six months, a friend and I decided we would support the campus and start a small group. After all, our church strives to built on small group communities. Out of the gates, we had a good core...

    Read more →

    The Distance

    by  •  • LifeStuff • 0 Comments

    It’s an odd thing to be at this point in life and yet regularly feel about 20 steps behind most other people. When I was in seminary, there was a guy that lived down the hall in the dorms from me and he was a nice dude, except he had a pretty prominent flaw...

    Read more →

    People Come and Go

    by  •  • LifeStuff • 0 Comments

    It’s a hard but sad fact that people- at least most people- move in and out of our lives in a relatively short time. Some individuals are luckier than others in that they have better luck- and better skills- at establishing and fostering relationships so that those they have with others don’t fade so...

    Read more →

    The Overlook

    by  •  • Writings • 0 Comments

    When the sun started to fall beneath the western clouds, dropping into the sea, he remembered a time when they were caught in that storm, with a mile left of the rising and descending trail they ambled down. The cold wind pushed them to and fro, and though the path was usually a scenic...

    Read more →

    If Dogs Told Knock Knock Jokes

    by  •  • Writings • 2 Comments

    “Knock knock?”                     “Dog biscuits!” “Where?!”                     “What?” “Dog biscuits!”                     “Where?!” “What?”                     “Dog biscuits!” “Where?!”                     “What?” “Where? Where?!”                     “Huh?” “What?”                     * Yawn * “Huh?”                     (Zzzzzzz.) * Yawn * (Zzzzzzz.)         — Photo Credit: Greg Ferreri, “Lilly and Blue”, 2013.

    Read more →

    Phoenix DanceCon, Day 2

    by  •  • Dear Diary • 0 Comments

    It’s officially day two of the Phoenix July 4th swing dance convention. The convention is being held this year at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale. West Coast Swing dancers from all around the country are here to learn, to compete, and to dance. And this event does a great job bringing in...

    Read more →

    The Five Stages of Grace

    by  •  • GraceThoughts • 0 Comments

    Appreciative of systemists like James Fowler, I offer here an artificial framework for thinking about grace. Recognizing that God and His workings are mysterious, this post in no way suggests that I have “figured out” how God sprinkles His grace into the events of human lives. When He does, though, this article suggests how...

    Read more →

    diary of a beggar

    by  •  • Writings • 1 Comment

    once, when he was critically young, he saw something so stunningly sordid that it burned its way into his heart and killed a part of it, and of the rest of it that fought to beat and to bleed, within that it laid its eggs so that they would hatch and it could burrow...

    Read more →

    When You Have To Change

    by  •  • LifeHelps • 0 Comments

    At one time a few years back, my mom liked to share the sweet little story she had of one day talking on the phone to my sister’s son when he was young. She was asking him some questions about his life, and after answering a few, I guess he lost interest in the...

    Read more →

    SOTD: “Beer Money” by Kip Moore

    by  •  • SOTD • 0 Comments

    Ever since I heard Kip Moore accept a request by a caller to the Bobby Bones show to come into the studio and play his song “Hey Pretty Girl” before the guy proposed on-air to his girlfriend, I’ve thought “That guy is cool”. And then I learned this is also one of his songs,...

    Read more →