These Three Things

A Bi-Weekly List of Things For My Friends

Photo by Ivan Oštrić on Unsplash

February 6, 2026

Every other Friday, I share three things that moved me, strengthened my heart, or shifted my perspective over the past few weeks. I hope they do the same for you.

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1. Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love

I was talking on the phone the other night with my good friend Chris and he mentioned a new (old) book he was reading called Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love. At first, my mind went to Brother Lawrence's famous book The Practice of the Presence of God, which I read years ago and still think of often. Certainly, the author of this book, Mike Mason, had Lawrence’s book in mind when choosing a title. I grabbed a copy on my Kindle and jumped in. I’m so glad I did. The Lord has been healing my heart from some pretty tough few years in ministry (maybe one day I’ll write on that), and this was just the book I needed. God’s using Mike’s words to continue to break up hardened soil in my heart, painfully digging deeper so that the light will break through. Here are a few quotes:

“A good friend of God will not be able to restrain his love for people. Do you love God? Look at the person beside you and you’ll know...”

”It’s true: There’s a brightness in the human face that is almost too bright for human eyes. It seems we can look at each other only so long before we must turn away. Perhaps we are too used to being blind, too accustomed to living in the dark. If we could really see what is right in front of our eyes, we’d see the invisible, too.”

”To practice the presence of people is to enter into the prayer life of God by seeing people His way.”

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2. Andrew Peterson

Last night, my family and I met up with my sister and her husband to see Andrew Peterson in concert. Oh my! Every good concert has at least one moment when you are so present with the music/art/beauty of it all that that moment lives with you forever. (My moment’s list includes Amy Grant, Coldplay, U2, and John Mayer, to name a few). But last night, oh my, too many of those moments of mind, heart, and soul, enraptured in the melody, words, heart, music, and vulnerability of the songs. So while I can’t post all of those moments from last night, I’ll post the one that left me in tears. Before playing The Rain Keeps Falling, Andrew had us learn the refrain “Peace, be still” and directed us to sing when it came time…and stated, this is the Holy Spirit’s song. In 5:08, my heart was comforted, strengthened, and maybe just a little more healed. What a moment!

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3. East of Eden

My family and I started a new tradition this past Christmas. We each grabbed some of our own money and took a trip to Barnes & Noble. But before we left the house, we drew names; the name drawn was the person you’d buy a book for. This was more fun than I had imagined, and we’re already planning to do it again next year. We all spread out and tried to hide the chosen book from each other, working to check out without being seen. It was fun to see my 12-year-old daughter do all this on her own (I wasn’t peeking). My son drew my name and bought me John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. This is a big book, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d tackle it right now. But I’m so so glad I did, or better yet, that I am! I’m more than halfway through the book and find myself thinking about these amazingly written characters often. There is a reason classics are classics. It is a timeless story where no word is wasted. I hear Netflix is doing a series this year, and I'm debating whether I will water down my experience by watching. A few quotes:

“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”

“Do you take pride in your hurt? Does it make you seem large and tragic? ...Well, think about it. Maybe you're playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.”

“When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else.”

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A Question for You: Which of these three connected most with where you are at today? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Ryan