revised living
I have a somewhat obsessive behavior when it comes to writing down anything lengthy on paper. I hate making a mistake. Fighting the compulsion to rewrite every word (rather than scratching out a few errors), I endure the look of a messy page.
Lately, I’ve been wrestling with the desire to “erase” some difficult issues in the circumstances around me.…
if tomorrow never comes
A heartbreaking story on the cover of the newspaper had everyone talking. A groom was found dead hours after his wedding dinner. One of his friends said: “He was a very cheerful person and had just gotten married. Nobody could believe he was dead just hours after celebrating his wedding.”
Life is truly uncertain. Everyone is just a heartbeat away…
old black coat
I know I should say “bye-bye” to my beloved black coat. It’s almost 15 years old and the cuffs are threadbare. The blue satin lining is torn. Still, every time I put it on, it hugs my shoulders perfectly and falls at just the right length. I’ll admit it—I’m attached.
Psalm 102 says that the earth and heavens will one…
when the world falls apart
We are obsessed with success. An entire industry revolves around Guinness World Records, cataloging stuff like the longest beard, the fastest 40-meter wheelbarrow race, and the most T-shirts worn at once. We have meticulous lists of all the record holders, but nobody remembers the losers.
Unfortunately, this fascination with all things triumphant has corroded our spiritual pursuits. We can begin to…
what are you waiting for?
In 2009, my corner of the world had one of the coldest summers on record. Then snowflakes fell early in the fall. My friends and I joked that we don’t know about global warming, but we’re all for it. We’re threatening to buy larger vehicles and any product that comes in aerosol—whatever it takes to expand the greenhouse effect and…
genealogies
I have a confession to make. Reading through the lists of genealogies in the Bible can be less than scintillating for me. I know. Sure, they’re important. They help trace and verify a person’s roots. And they often provide essential background information as to why a story or person in the Bible is so relevant and remarkable. But, if you’re…
inside information
Tiptoeing mischievously toward me, my son leaned down and placed something near the base of the chair where I was sitting and then scampered away. Looking down, I smiled at his childlike belief in my supposed ignorance. There on the floor was the homing unit to his spy gear listening device. Though he would hear little more than the turning…
the future is now (partly)
Bafaluto, a small village of three hundred in Gambia, was barely surviving. Without access to clean water, the entire population was stuck in a cycle of abject poverty, relentless disease, and hunger—until Brian Harrold and Pamela Morgan, entrepreneurs from Northern Ireland, spent a small fortune digging an 80-meter well for them. When asked what compelled him to do it, Brian…
