Rex’s life was marked by one tragic diagnosis after another: blind, autistic, a spectrum of other neurological/developmental problems. Left to raise her severely-disabled son after her husband left the family when Rex was still a baby, Cathleen Lewis became a ferocious advocate for her son. Her intense and complete commitment to caring for him allowed her to read the nuances of his limited communication. Her dedication and focus helped her discover a nearly-hidden entry ramp onto the single pathway into... Read more

Yesterday, we attended the quarterly “When We Pray” county-wide concert of prayer. Each time it’s held, the 4-hour Saturday morning even is housed in a different evangelical church building throughout Lake County, IL. There aren’t many places where believers from a w-i-d-e variety of churches can come to intercede for the time and place in which we live. The gatherings are not characterized by truce-like ecumenism, but by a kingdom desire for John 17 -type unity.   Attendance over the last few... Read more

If you have ever experienced the nearness of God in your life – heard His voice speak to you, experience His burning, overwhelming love, it threatens to “forever ruin you for the ordinary”, to borrow a well-crafted phrase from a book title.   And when that Presence moves from you, even just a bit, it can be devastating, disorienting. Some of us become addicts, trying to somehow make that feeling happen again. And again. Charismatics are often known for chasing... Read more

I trudged and slid through the slushy, ice-slicked parking lot of a local strip mall a few days ago. It felt so good when I first entered the warm salon, one of those thirteen buck, no-appointment places. When you have hair like mine, you just need someone with a sharp pair of hedgclippers or a small chainsaw to tame the mane every few weeks. The stylist nearest the door laid her scissors onto her table and walked to the counter... Read more

I’ve been attending church services for over 30 years. Here’s a list of the books of the Bible – and a few front-burner topics I’ve never heard preached in any substantive way. Some of them might surprise you: Leviticus Numbers 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles Psalms Job Ecclesiastes Lamentations Obadiah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Hebrews Jude Turning The Other Cheek The Dignity Of Work Birth Control Living As Exiles Balancing Theologies of Suffering and Healing Here are a... Read more

Not exactly a resolution, this post captures my longings for 2009…and 2015, for that matter… Click right here to read it.  Read more

I’m re-reading Elizabeth Goudge’s The Dean’s Watch, a Christmastime treat to myself. (Ignore the lame dustjacket cover at left. The book is wayyyy better than the picture would ever lead you to believe.)   Take a few moments to enjoy her beautiful description of a life completely surrendered to God:       “…she took a vow to love. Millions before her had taken the same simple vow but she was different from the majority because she kept her vow, kept... Read more

“Why would God waste 8 hours of each day?” I once heard a conference speaker ask his audience. “If we serve a God who communicates with us, why would He remain silent at night while we sleep?”  This Advent, I have been amazed at the way God told His story to those who were willing to hear Him in dreams and visitations. Those with hearing eyes and seeing ears.    Yosef ben-Yaacov had always known God spoke in dreams to... Read more

TracFones. Brainwashing. Surveillance. Creep Club. CIA. Parkour. Characters named Dilbert, Humpty, Swarm and Snake. All populate a shadowy world featured in T. L. Hines’ techno-supernatural 386-page hardcover fiction release, The Unseen (Nelson).  The book tells the story of Lucas, an urban nomad who lives in the airspaces and attics of office buildings. He has no past, and his present is formed by searching for emotional “connections” with those on whom he spies. If he feels one, he steals pictures or other... Read more

Why do the same Christmas decorations that look so festive in mid-December look so tacky in mid-January? (And why do some Christmas decorations look tacky no matter when you plug them in and inflate them on your lawn?) When did the term “Thundersnow” start getting used by TV meteorologists? Does anyone else find the breathless reporting about how much people do (or don’t) spend on Black Friday – and throughout the “Holiday Shopping Season” – seem a little like examining... Read more