Ever had something wonderful happen in your life—something so good you could hardly believe it was happening? Maybe it was a great achievement, the birth of a child, or some other fortuitous event of significance. An oft-repeated theme in movies features an ordinary person who is either notified of an obscene inheritance or identified as …
As a preschooler, I bore a remarkable likeness to my big brother at that age. One day back then, a sepia family portrait on the wall caught my eye. I proudly pointed to the youngest male and proclaimed, “That’s ME!” Imagine my shock when my only brother, seven years older, remarked, “No it’s not. That’s …
To love my neighbor as myself, the implication’s clear; It will not work to hate myself, to be of any cheer. What does it take to reconcile conflicts hid deep within? How do I mute that voice inside, accusing me again? That critic harsh knows me too well; and crouching, lies in wait Until a …
Your favorite football team is five points behind their opponent in the final 30 seconds of the 4th quarter. While in possession of the ball they are only progressing a few yards at a time, and with the clock rapidly running down, theirs seems to be a lost cause. Opposing fans are beginning to high-five …
Times like the start of new year, birthdays, and funerals frequently prompt reflective thinking. They can serve as catalysts for personal change, as we compare our current situation with where we’d like to be. I used to push New Year’s resolutions. Some years I subjected our whole family to collective half-day goal-setting sessions in early …
Years ago I was not what you would call “pro-exercise.” I even found a supporting verse in the Bible: For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things (1 Timothy 4:8a KJV). Clearly, it was better to be godly than a jock. Who wants to sweat, anyway? I mean, isn’t that the …
As I gingerly drove one-handed a week ago, I thought I should be careful to avoid an accident, because that would be no fun at all for someone who already had a broken arm. The very next day, I headed to a store in awful rain. I saw really bad traffic ahead, so I backtracked …
As we walked on a local trail recently, Carrie and I noticed a number of parents with small children. After one toddler cheerfully greeted us in passing, I considered the wonder of language and how we pick it up. Babies are born unable to say a word, They begin speaking only after long hearing others …
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). When my eyes landed on that verse recently, it had special relevance, since I was typing with only my right hand, due to recently breaking a bone in my elbow in a cycling fall. Joy as good medicine seemed …
One Friday evening a little over two weeks ago, I decided to do a quick test ride of my road bicycle as part of getting ready for our much-anticipated vacation. As I approached our house, I misjudged a route, lost my balance and took a very hard fall, my left elbow crashing into the pavement. …
I always thought it would be cool to be “a man of few words.” You, know, the tall, dark, strong, silent type idealized in movies. I’d be someone who seldom spoke, but when I did dispense a nugget of wisdom or astute observation, heads would turn. My words would be weighty and profound. Reporters would …
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather talk than listen any day. Not that I’m in love with the sound of my voice, it just comes more naturally to say what I think than to shut up and pay attention to what somebody else has to say. But the Bible doesn’t tell us to …
