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I have a vivid memory of a woman, sitting in a navy blue recliner in her bedroom, open Bible on her lap, and catching a few minutes of a catnap before dinner. Her name was JoAnn and I cared for her child with Cerebral Palsy while I was in college and beyond. I also have a memory of being driven to a camp with my high school youth group, by Laurie and David, a young couple in our church who…
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Oswald Chambers writes, “In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.” Dallas Willard comments, “Grace is not opposed to effort, but to earning.” There is much to do, but not to the neglect of…
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A very young, redheaded boy came running to his momma from water’s edge. He was screaming and crying and wailing and gave grave looks of anguish. “What is wrong?” piped the mom. “The water I put into my sand castle will not stay in! It keeps getting out (wail, wail, blah, blah)” cried the young boy. All of this was taking place less than ten feet from my beach reading perch. “Honey, would you come take care of your son?”…
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This summer, my family watched, with great interest and anticipation, the US Women’s National Team play in the World Cup. After losing to Japan in 2011, the American women emerged victorious this time, a win punctuated with sweet redemption. Across the nation, a record number of fans watched – mesmerized by this group of athletes working rhythmically together to accomplish their dream. What was the reason for USA’s success in 2015? The USWNT was considered by…
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The news last night featured price increases from our beloved Starbucks. A small coffee camouflaged as tall will now cost over two bucks. This was a lead news story. It felt more like advice than news. The implied advice was to think twice before buying coffee at Starbucks. News, as N.T. Wright suggests, involves a significant event changing the future and transforming the present. Over the past several weeks, my friend Fitz has been driving me crazy with texts about…
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This is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. We just happen to be at the beach for my annual study break. Perfect. At lunch today, we watched an episode showing the first ever video of a shark attack on a human. The dude attacked was a researcher believing sharks don’t attack unless provoked. So… as the ground breaking film showed, this now-limping shark researcher was standing still in shallow, shark-infested waters somewhere in…
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An Ohio friend has been graciously checking out my study break blogs, and sent this email of questions: “When did we all, as Christians, decide to be judgmental of others to the detriment of examining ourselves? And collectively, why does it so frequently feel Christians are more bent on being crusaders instead of just simply touching those around them and showing love?” Great questions. Last night we ventured out to a pier immediately after our family beach photo shoot. There were…
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“It’s a Free Country…” That’s a phrase I remember being “cool” as a kid. I remember my sister saying it when we’d be in an argument and I’d remind her of the rules of calling “shotgun” to ride in the front seat of the van. I remember saying it to friends at school when they’d ask if they could sit in the open seat at the lunch table, or play kickball with our group at recess. I remember it transforming…
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According to the Washington Post, Gale Curcio recently ate a chocolate bar laced with 300 mg. of THC from cannabis oil. Legalized pot for recreational use is growing across many states. Somehow the candy bar from California made it to her coffee table. She unknowingly took a small bite, but went into an induced psychedelic state ending up in the local ER for tests. With a slow-but-eventual diagnosis, the doctors were glad Gale ate only a small portion. They were…
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Another new word has suddenly poked it’s way in our cultural vocab. SCOTUS. With the recent ruling of the Supreme Court Of The United States to make same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states, language is not the only thing changing. Opinions about the LGBTQ community are shifting in favor of the vocal and highly visible minority (less than 2%). Christians everywhere are scrambling. What are we to do? How are we to fight for Biblical truth? What prophecy is…
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