You can’t fly in a plane from here to anywhere without dozens of final systems checks. (Can I get an amen?!) It doesn’t matter if you’re headed to Pittsburgh or the Philippines, the pilot and...
It’s hard to see anything else but “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die,” in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians. But of course, in today’s verse he is reminding us that we do have more than...
Sometimes I wonder why I watch the news. One sad story after another fills the screen while pain and sadness fill my heart. I tell myself I want to stay informed even if it brings sorrow. Once in a...
Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. A new season tap dances in with sweet melodies of birdsong, and fresh fragrances permeate the air from blossoming trees and budding flowers. This season...
On Easter weekend of my freshman year in college, a guy from my brother's floor in his dorm was shot and killed. Looking back, the timing seems eerily coincidental. I didn’t know it, but God was...
Thirty years ago, I went to pick up my son from the children’s ministry after services. I had my ID card, but his tag had fallen off so they would not release him to me. As we waited for a...
It was a warm spring day in the Midwest. The grade school was having its first track meet. The children were as excited to be running as they were to shed their sweatshirts after the long winter. The...
The time was 1970. The place was my best friend’s basement. We held our spears in our hands (pool sticks). My friend spouted off, “You just think you are ‘holier-than-thou.’” We were...
It’s been a long time since I searched the couch cushions for change. But not that long. I grew up feeling like my cup was half empty. Other people had plenty, but I needed to scrape by. I’d count...