Martin Luther described the Christian spiritual life as consisting of three things: Oratio, Meditatio, and Tentatio - Prayer, Meditation, and Struggle.

The first two are disciplines. Most, if not all, Christians have some sense of what they involve. They have been written about by giants of the faith since the beginning, so what would I have to offer to that discussion? Probably not much.

But I do know struggle. As an American, I hate struggle. I like my burger in two minutes, my bed soft and warm, and my beer cold. I do not like pain, either.

Life is struggle, however. Luther called struggle the method by which God teaches us much.

Tentatio comes out of that struggle - that is why I write. All without taking myself way too seriously…..hopefully.