He blinked his bleary eyes open trying to determine if the sound that woke him was real or only a dream. He pulled the blanket up around his shoulders and crept toward the entryway. Peering out into the dim light of dawn, his worst fears materialized—they were surrounded. Tiptoeing back, he shook his companion awake,…
On the heels of our District Assembly, I will be spending the summer and fall unpacking the report I gave. If you’re like me, even if you enjoyed the report, it has already slipped from your memory! As a reminder, I landed on four areas of emphasis I’d like us to practice if we hope…
Does the resurrection still matter two weeks after Easter? You bet. Read on. I heard an illustration in a sermon once that went like this: A large bald eagle spotted an otter struggling to cross an ice-clogged river. The eagle, sensing an easy meal, plunged downward and sank his talons into the struggling creature. What…
Brutus came to visit last week. Brutus is the Shepherd mix pup that belongs to Kassi, our son’s girlfriend. For the first 15 minutes of his visit, he scoured the house, nose to the floor, ears perked up, exploring room to room. Cats have a reputation for curiosity, but Brutus couldn’t relax until he’d checked…
I’ve been on a few plane rides lately. Depending on the size of the plane, I often try to get the emergency exit row seats. I’m a little tall for the ever-shrinking standard issue airplane seat. Inevitably, the flight attendant walks through the emergency row procedure with each of the folks seated there. If you’ve…
Local is hot these days. What I mean is, that our culture is moving toward “small and local” over “big and corporate.” This is no surprise to you. Everyone, it seems, touts “locally grown” or “artisan style” products these days. Where my generation was enamored with finally getting a chance to have the fancy products…
I’ve been working my way through the story of David’s rise to fame in the Old Testament (I Samuel). Following his defeat of the giant, Goliath, King Saul honors David. But as David’s military successes continue and his popularity grows, Saul becomes jealous, and his kingship begins to unravel. King Saul is erratic and murderous,…
I love a good shopping cart. (If we’re friends on Facebook, you probably already knew that.) Not long ago I was in a retail store during a very busy season. I grabbed the last cart available only to discover that it pulled hard to the left. Additionally, it had a wheel that thrummed and clicked…
In 586 BC, the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and carried its people off to exile. We can hear the prophets’ warnings and the cries of the exiles in our Old Testament. The Israelites, however, are far from the only people to suffer exile for their faith. CNN recently reported that in the small village of…
It was completely unexpected. A real “out of the blue” kind of happening. For months I hadn’t taken the time to call our trash removal company and request a dumpster repair. One of the wheels had fallen off. Each Wednesday morning found me wrestling the thing to the road, scraping up the driveway, making yet…
Sign in to your account to continue
