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This weekend I will spend 4 days volunteering in prison, sharing God’s love through the simple act of service. I wrote this letter for the residents I will meet.

Dear Brother in Christ,

I thought you might want to know why. Why would some guy from the outside drive a couple hours and be away from his family to go spend time with people he doesn’t even know who never did anything for him?

It’s because I know first-hand how God can take a totally messed-up life and make something amazing out it.  He cares for each one of us, no matter what our past looks like. Just like He changed my life, He can do something truly awesome in yours.

I’m honored to come serve you and look forward to getting to know you this weekend.

With Confidence,

Drew Horine

For more information on how you can volunteer in this life-changing ministry, visit the Kairos International Website.

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Never grow tired of doing good.

Being a superhero is hard… especially when everyone knows your identity.

When you possess skills, talents or abilities that those around you do not, it seems the cries for help will never end. It’s easy to grow tired or impatient fixing the same problems over and over again. Like Mr. Incredible said, “Sometimes you just want the world to stay saved!”

“We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9 (NCV)

The truth is all of us have things we can do that those around us cannot. I can develop really awesome websites, but don’t ask me to bake a wedding cake. Don’t ask me to sit on the phone all day listening to customers whine about something they broke. That’s just not in my DNA.

But maybe it’s in yours.

Human beings were designed to need each other. I need you to be my hero just as bad as you need me to be yours. Think of what you do well and use it to save someone else today.

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What is this mysterious, magical thing we humans call love? Is it all just pheromones or is it a spiritual connection between two people who were destined to be together?

I have a really simple definition. Love is caring for someone else more than you care about yourself.

When you say, “I love you,” the message should be “I value your needs above my own. What you need is more important than what I want.”

Sexual attraction can be attributed to science and smells, but hot and heavy whirlwind romances often end in tragic heartbreak. Lasting relationships are brought about by two people committed to holding each other up, even when the newness wears off.

Happy Valentine’s Day, honey.  I love you.

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Found this great article on 5 Ways the World Could End.

Funny thing is global warming isn’t one of them.  Oh and for those you hippies still stuck in the 70’s, a new ice age ain’t gonna kill us all either.

Turns out the earth has actually been warmer than it is now during most of its history. Life seems to have carried on just fine all that time.

If you really want to know about the final days of Planet Earth, I suggest you read the Book of Revelation.

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Twenty years ago today I made a decision that radically shifted my entire existence.

The butterfly effect from this one decision saved my life then and continues to give me purpose today. It has affected everything from my voting record to my radio presets. It has dominated major decisions like college, friendships and how I raise my son. It has guided smaller ones like where my extra money goes and how I spend my free time.

I was fifteen when I decided to follow Jesus and had no idea where it would lead. I just knew He had what I needed - even if I had to chase Him to the ends of the earth to get it.

I’m still a Jesus-follower today. There have been times where I was better at it than others, and I still have a lot of room to do it better. But I keep following and He somehow sees fit to keep working on me.

That’s the thing that makes this relationship so amazing. I come to Him a total failure. He says, “That’s okay, because I only work with failures.” Then he picks me up and works a little bit at a time.

Back in 1988, friends and family said it was a phase. Some people even thought I lost my marbles. Many of those same friends and family are now following with me. Others, I’m still praying for.

They all know this thing ain’t going away.

“Twenty years later.. and the truth hasn’t changed.”
- Glenn Kaiser

BTW, If you want to know more about how I met Jesus in the first place, check out my post, Darkness Falls.

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Someone I know failed in a very public way this week. The story is a headline on national news right now and will probably be in the morning paper.

I fail every day. I lose my temper. I try to make people think I’m better than I really am. I look twice at forbidden fruit. So do you.

The fact that I’m not a celebrity doesn’t make me any better.

It’s only by grace - a reward given by a merciful God that we could never, ever begin to earn - that any of us make it into His family. We confess our sin. He forgives us. That’s how it works. Not because He has to, but because He loves us.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
- 1 John 4:11

For most of us, confessing our sin would be the end of it. We did wrong, we find forgiveness and maybe suffer a small consequence, but we move on.

My friend has to sit in church tomorrow.. wondering who among us has seen the news.

I’m praying for you.

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