Faith
Small is the new big
“Orange is the new black”. It’s the title of the 7 season TV series that began in 2013. Interesting title. Let me clarify. The ‘orange’ in the title refers to the color of correctional uniforms the female inmates wear. The ‘is the new black’ is a fashion reference, meaning the new hot thing. “60 is the…
Read MoreI’m especially fond of you!
“I’m especially fond of you.” That’s a quote from the 2007 novel “The Shack” by William P. Young. The main character is Mackenzie Phillips and four years prior to the setting of the book, one of his children is abducted and killed while on a family camping trip. It turned him bitter at life and…
Read MoreReflection time
I just returned from attending the funeral of a friend. He was a courageous Christian friend who, because of his faith in Christ, I will see again one day in heaven. He pastored in an inner-city church. I listened to some incredible stories, many of them I heard personally from my friend. He never passed…
Read MoreChristmas in nine words
What’s your favorite Christmas verse in the Bible? Isaiah 7:14? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Matthew 1:21? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and…
Read MoreYour life as a headline
Much of the history you read is in summary form. “Washington crosses the Potomac.” “Japan surrenders ending World War II.” “Elon Musk set to buy Twitter.” But history books don’t have the bandwidth to tell every back story or every detail that led to the headline. I get the same sense when reading what the…
Read MorePurpose in the pain
Sometimes life is just plain hard. People we love get sick. Governments do idiotic things. The news we hear is often negative. Careers don’t always work out. Kids don’t constantly express their love for their parents. Has it ever crossed your mind, “why?” Here’s a thought. Crisis and difficulty in your life have a purpose.…
Read MoreMagic 8-Ball
When I was growing up, my best friend had a Magic 8-Ball. It was a round plastic sphere that looked like an 8-Ball from a pool table. My friends and I used it for seeking adolescent advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman. You’d ask a question, then turn…
Read MoreBold proclamation
I’ve been fortunate to travel to India five times. Each time I come back to the United States, I return with fresh insights. They often come as a result of looking at the world through a different “lens”. Mission trips have a way of doing that. Most recently, my observations didn’t come from my eyes,…
Read MoreGeneration to generation
Christine Caine shared this story at Catalyst West Coast. In the 2000 Olympics in Australia & 2004 Olympics in Athens & 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the 4×400 meter Women’s Relays, the American team should have won each time. They had the best individual runners and had the best record of any other team. They lost…
Read MoreThe “ripple effect”
You never know who you’re going to sit next to at a baseball game. It goes something like this. You get a ticket, you sit down, and then someone invades your personal space and sits next to you. As you begin to enjoy the game, this guy next to you, usually with a painted face and…
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