I squeezed my eyes tight, pushing the daylight out of every conceivable corner. I was convinced that it was right here, right now that God would speak. The setup was perfect. I was 17 with a few communication skills and on fire. I wanted to serve God – anywhere, anyhow. I drove into a quiet spot in woods and set up a chair under a large aspen tree. I sat and waited for something – a voice. A bush. A... Read more
Walking through the deep forest, I stepped on a limb and it created a cartoon-like chain reaction that eventually had a tree branch careening toward my face. I turned my face just in time and the branch gouged my cheek. Not my eyes! It’s interesting how we protect our most precious part of the body. We’ll fling our hands in front of our face. We’ll turn our backs to brute force. We’ll do anything to protect the eye. If we had... Read more
Friends, I was privileged to be part of a project promoted by my local writer’s group. Our mission was to go to church on Easter Sunday, and then reflect on the service and write about it in our own tyle and perspective. The result is this beautiful e-book, Reflections on the Rock (Morning Has Broken). We would be honored if you downloaded it and shared it with others as a gift. The link is here Reflections on the Rock (Morning... Read more
We often think of Jesus in strictly Holy terms. The mental images are created by paintings or movies or pictures in the back of the Children’s Bible are clear. Walking among throngs with a lamb draped across his shoulder, or smiling at the man begging by the side of the road, or heaven opening up with a dove, a light shining down on His face. But a carpenter? Rarely do we imagine The Holy One, the promised King, as a common laborer Read more
Think about all of the tall tales you were told as a child; that touching a toad would give you warts; that lightning never strikes twice; that going out into the cold will give you a cold. We all have an image of George Washington walking around with wooden teeth, like a walking lumberyard. But the truth of the matter is that his dentures were made out of ivory, lead, gold and even a little donkey tooth. We’ve all heard... Read more
A few nights ago we had a discussion about harvest gold. You might remember those days when appliances, countertops and small mixers all came in this color. And avocado green was popular too. Around the table we laughed at all the things that were supposed to be cool, forever. It was supposed to define a new generation of home fashion. Today it defines a generation of home remodelers. Growing up, our house... Read more
The dust swirled in the hot humid air as I trudged home from school. I slipped the report card next to Mom’s purse, hoping she would just sign it and give it back with cool indifference. No such luck. In our home, earning a mediocre grade was a major event, close to dental surgery or transmission work. She saw the “C” in social studies. My reasoning is that the grade was “average.” But for an hour it seemed, I was on... Read more
We divide our world into two basic groups -- “Us” and “Them.” That’s it. There’s the “Us,” which is the socio-economic group we identify based on what we think is important. Things like race and culture and gender and religion factor into the “us.” And other things like sports allegiances, dress standards, or homes also create groups we can identify with. Read more
You probably have some old injuries you are carrying around. Someone said something to you or did something to you. Maybe as a child you were told you were dumb, or you couldn’t sing, or you were ugly. Maybe a parent crushed your enthusias m or a trusted elder took advantage of you sexually. And the result is you never tug at the rope that holds you back. If you did, it would break and you would be free. Read more
His great love for pottery became a burdensome beast. Instead of pursuing his art for the love of it, he had to produce. William confessed to me that the joy he once felt from creation suddenly felt like a job, because the love was replaced with need. He grew to despise his gift. Read more
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