This article was featured at this week’s “The High Calling.” Please click here for the original post. As children, we knew all about kingdoms. We erected make-believe castles, dreamt of princes and princesses, and battled rival knights. We donned bath towels and called them royal robes, wore garish crowns of cut-out gold paper, and rode the family dog like a white steed. We grew up and cast aside much of that fantasy world. But one grown man is still having... Read more
I was inspired by a short post by Jon Acuff last week who wrote “This is for all the people who have made mistakes and hold out hope that it’s not impossible to return.” That’s me! I’ve been reminded of past failure so much that they now are part of my resume. It’s a tattoo for all to see. It’s a rock that I drag around for all to wonder. It’s an anchor that holds my heart. Acuff uses Joseph... Read more
Image via Wikipedia The Soul’s Slow Demise Whether you drink it or not, you must admit that coffee is a strong part of our image of Americana. In the wide open plains of the Old West, coffee was a just reward for a day’s work. The dusty, chiseled faces of cowboys would gather around the evening campfire, relaxing from a long day of driving cattle. A makeshift spit hanging over a fire held a battered pot that would pour hot... Read more
(This is a copy of my featured post over at High Calling Blogs today. Click here to read the whole post.) I’ve had some outstanding bosses. And I’ve have some pretty bad ones, too. I bet you’ve experienced both kinds as well. The worse ones were those that were self-absorbed. The entire workplace seemed to revolve around their personality, opinions, likes and dislikes. They expended tremendous energy on the endless accumulation of converts and followers. My job description could boil... Read more
You never can appreciate the light until you’ve been plunged into darkness. It’s a place where all your fears cry out your name and grip your heart. It’s a place where all the bitter reminders of an inadequate life rise up and accuse you. It’s a table reserved for one – as you can neither see nor sense anyone else around you. Darkness is a lonely place, indeed. As the night wears on, the darkness deepens. Every bit of light... Read more
For years I had an old, lime green, International Truck. It had a splintered windshield, a primer brown door, and rust on every surface. And the engine belched plumes of smoke while the holey mufflers roared. Ugly. Yet, I hung onto it. It pulled trailers. It plowed through snow. It went off road. It went anywhere. Sure, I was lured by the shiny Dodge pickup at the dealer. My lust for the new and flashy continually tested my satisfaction for... Read more
Swaggering. Swaying. Tenative. The blind man approached Jesus. They exchanged a few words. And then Jesus spit on the hard clay ground. There’s not a spiritual, holy way to do this. Nor is there Christ-like spitting position. Like every other man who has ever lived, he swallowed hard, and pushed up the milky flem and — did it. It was disgusting to the bystanders. It was pedistrian. Certainly it could viewed with contempt by the ruling class. And the religious leaders must... Read more
Frail. Withered. Pitiful. While visting my father in a nursing home, I became acquainted with a silver-haired woman named Beth. Almost 90 years old, her best days were far behind her. She’d been blind since 1921 after a childhood sickness stole her sight. Looking at her, I admit, I pitied her. Lost in a world where neither your body or your eyes work, it must be terribly lonely. But strike up a conversation with Beth and you’ll find a vibrant... Read more
In just about any business or corporate environment, God is a distant entity. He is visibly forced into the darkest recess, never to be mentioned. Embarrassed, ashamed and self reliant, they do not need a supreme being. That’s what they have a board for. What is interesting is that these very same corporate boards protect their interests by invoking God in their legal contracts. Most corporate contracts have a boiler plate clause called Force Majeure. The term literally means “greater... Read more
Image via Wikipedia Why did God create a world that is not only functional, but extraordinarily poetic and lovely in every way? Author Fulton J. Sheen says it is the same reason that we find it hard to keep a secret. “Good things are hard to keep. The rose is good, and tells its secret in perfume. The sun is good, and tells its secret in light and heart….God cannot keep the secret of His love and the telling of... Read more
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