(A repost of an article I wrote that was published in The Story Jar. A tribute to my mom, who now has all the flowers she can handle) Flowers. Mom has always had a passion for flowers. She believed they could brighten any drab room, liven any conversation, and change any dour mood. For 20 years, she took this vision earnestly each Sunday at the First Baptist Church. As the flower coordinator, she turned the plain wood altar at the... Read more
So it’s finally time to come clean. I worked at a restaurant once as a teenager. It was the Nugget, on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. It was a small casino with a few 21 tables, a row of slots, and lots of bleary-eyed people pulling nickle slot machines. The back of the casino had a small resturant where we served $2.99 stacks of pancakes and $7.99 prime rib. It was my first real job as I bussed tables,... Read more
I remember coming home from work and there was my son, lying on his stomach in the living room. He was surrounded by crayons and pieces of paper. “What are you doing, son?” “I’m working,” he said resolutely, his tongue pushed toward his cheek with a look of intensity that meant business. “Really hard.” 20 minutes later he produced an elaborately colored picture. “I used every crayon,” he announced. “Do you like it?” “Of course I do,” I said, surveying... Read more
Laura Wellington was half a mile away from finishing when the bombs went off. The Boston Marathon came to a screeching, horrifying halt. She had run 25 and 1/2 miles for nothing. Weeping, she sat on the curb in dismay, overwhelmed with emotion for those who lost their lives, the injured, and her own empty efforts. Then, out of nowhere, a stranger walked up to her and handed over his medal. He had already finished before the explosions and was escaping the... Read more
There are a number of popular books by modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. These new atheists are convinced that religion shouldn’t be tolerated. Instead it should be openly countered, criticized, exposed, and mocked if necessary. They have legions of fans. And those who follow their teachings are now emboldened to post billboards, ads on the sides of bunches, and open mock Christianity. I’m not afraid of their arguments or their pronouncements. I’ve had many discussions with those who stand opposed to faith and... Read more
If your situation seems too dark, too desperate, too impossible, I want to float a message of hope to you. There is a light. I’ve been there with you. I’ve looked down at the edge and looked down. It’s a terribly steep fall with no bottom. And standing on one side of that chasm, sometimes I can almost reach out and touch the other. The two sides are that close. In other situations, the divide is expansive. But I believe... Read more
Kids in classroom killed for no reason.A midnight showing of an adventure movie ends in tragedy.A bomb explodes at the end of a race, erasing smiles of elation, maiming and killing dozens. We rise up as a nation full of individuals with one word on our lips. Justice. We don’t want the guilty to go free after so ruthlessly changing the lives of the innocent. And we grasp for new laws and regulations. We want someone to do something, anything for the sake... Read more
The biblical hall of faith is filled with men of passion and zeal. Read the names – Abraham, Samson, David and all the others and you’ll recall the tales of inspiration. We retell them in Bible studies, sermons and object lessons to our children. But nearly every one of these heroes has a dark side, a story you won’t find on the flannel board in Sunday school. Most of these role models had some deed that they desperately wanted... Read more
There was a point in my life when a question mark hung over my head. You see, I didn’t know the future, and it scared me. I couldn’t figure out tomorrow, next year or the future. I was paralyzed by the thought of just not knowing. Uncertainty led to stupidity as I tried to order the future around my stupid pride. That question mark eventually led me to a relationship with God, a place to turn the question mark into a... Read more
We like praise. We love praise. We crave praise. I don’t care how humble you are, there is still a welling of pride that comes when others recognize the work of your hands. It started as children when even the simplest drawing with a blunt crayon was hung on the refrigerator. Proudly beaming for days, we sulked when it finally had to come down. Something inside of us wants our efforts to be applauded. “Look at me!” Although we might coyly... Read more
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