belief – Page 11 – DAVE GIPSON

The couple next door

beliefJune 26, 2020206Views 0Likes 0Comments

Allow me for a moment to do a bit of "virtue signaling"... One morning last winter, Facebook decided to post an old photo from the winter before on my newsfeed. It was taken by my wife, who tagged me when I was shoveling snow off our neighbor’s front yard. We were living in St Louis, and…

Second Chance Dad

beliefJune 20, 2020196Views 0Likes 0Comments

This is a picture of my baby girls a few days before Fathers Day 2020. I remember the exact moment and where I was when the one on the right entered my life. Her name is Elizabeth (“Ellie” for short) and she was my second chance at being a dad. It’s not that I was…

When Everything’s About Race

beliefJune 13, 2020154Views 0Likes 0Comments

These are my two little girls, 5 and 6 years old, asleep in our home. A picture of safety and peace. We adopted them after fostering them from birth. One is part African American, the other Latina. The lives of both me and my wife revolve totally around them. Put simply, we adore them.…

The Explosion Walk

beliefMay 15, 2020117Views 0Likes 0Comments

Have you ever noticed that heroes don’t run from explosions anymore in the movies? Seriously, that’s so “last year”. No, the really cool movie hero simply tosses his cigarette toward a fire near him. That fire just happens to be around some massively combustible edifice (gas stations work best for…

“click, click, click…”

beliefMay 12, 2020201Views 0Likes 0Comments

By the way, here’s a true confession… I hate rollercoasters. Yeah, I know that makes me a hypocrite now with all the rollercoaster talk. They say there’s always some point at which an analogy falls apart. For me, it’s where you actually board a rollercoaster. I simply don’t trust those hastily-assembled rust-buckets you’d find at your…

Won’t you be my neighbor?

beliefApril 22, 2020136Views 0Likes 0Comments

I hate finding pictures from my childhood. I’ll be cruising through a photo album and it’s like being blindsided by a 300 pound tackle. Speaking of 300 pounds… I was a fat, lonely kid with a lousy home life and no friends. Seriously, none. A slew of allergies, asthma and a particularly weird skin ailment…

How I Know He Lives

beliefApril 13, 2020265Views 0Likes 0Comments

Growing up in a southern Baptist church, every Easter there were two hymns you had to sing…or you probably weren’t really Baptist. One was “Low in the Grave He Lay”. Most people don’t remember it by that title, but by the bouncy chorus that interrupts the sad, mournful verse. After lamenting the crucified Jesus, suddenly…

Thoughts and Prayers

beliefApril 5, 2020138Views 0Likes 0Comments

When a tragedy like a school shooting or a natural disaster happen, people feel helpless. They wonder what can be done and look for solutions. Then a cycle begins that repeats itself every tragedy. Often they look for someone to blame. One group sincerely believes the answer is a simple, practical one. They propose legislation…

FEAR ITSELF

beliefMarch 13, 2020284Views 0Likes 3Comments

Scared yet? I think my least favorite phrase for the past year is “an abundance of caution”. Like you, this week I’ve turned on the news every morning to make sure the zombie apocalypse hasn’t started yet. Over the next few weeks I believe the things I’ll most be thankful for will be: my Jesus, my health,…

Time Heals Everything…if you let it

beliefMarch 6, 2020885Views 0Likes 0Comments

There’s a devastating song in the Jerry Herman musical MACK AND MABEL that goes, "Time heals everything…but loving you”. The female lead who sings this song eventually dies a drug addict, never reunited with the lost love she's still pining for. So much for the term "musical comedy"! We’re often reassured by well-meaning friends that no matter…

Gipson Family Update: Back to the Beginning

beliefMarch 3, 2020424Views 0Likes 7Comments

So it was around 8 months ago that God led us to leave our home and my pastorate and relocate in Knoxville, TN. It was a step of faith, a hard step, and we hoped God had something special for us on the other side. And indeed He did…just not at all what we expected.…

When God Doesn’t Want You Happy

beliefJanuary 30, 2020211Views 0Likes 0Comments

I recently got a Facebook message from a well-meaning Christian friend: "God has seen everything you've been going through, and He told me to tell you 'IT'S OVER'! Your trial has ended, and now God's about to open up the windows of heaven to bless you beyond your wildest dreams!!!!!" (Full disclosure: I may have…