For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8). My panting precedes me. The air is cold as I walk this morning. It stings my lungs as I draw it in…
Read moreTag: Reflection
Living and Dying Well
Receiving the grim news about cancer turns anyone’s world upside down. It did for one couple who chose to see lessons in the experience.
Read moreThe Other Way
It’s been a busy summer of traveling. Road trips over the last three months have taken me, and the family, on ministry adventures to Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota. It was fun and rewarding, but put more miles in our old Pontiac than I care to count. A constant companion on these…
Read moreIs Blindness the End?
A woman fights the frustrations of blindness, but she gains new spiritual sight from God when she allows Him to break her spirit.
Read moreAlice Takes the Wheel
I’ll never forget the time a few friends and I taught Alice how to drive. But I’m a little reluctant to tell the tale, even after all these years. You’ll see why. How Alice actually came to be adopted by my church youth group is beyond memory. Perhaps it was because this sweet little old…
Read moreWhen I’m Weak
My friend Scott has Parkinson’s disease. He is only in his fifties, but the tremors are getting bad. Recently, Scott went to New York City to explore alternative treatments. When he returned, we visited — mainly about his strange encounter at New York’s LaGuardia airport. As Scott made his way to the United Airlines terminal,…
Read moreTake Care!
I live in a rural and fairly homogenous Midwest community, but recently I learned that a close-knit community book club was close to folding over the cultural and political strife gripping the nation. Increasingly among friends and neighbors, cracks of disagreement are yawning into canyons of division. Without resorting to all the outrage posts all…
Read moreA Present Silence
The necessary distance to grieve death together. by Jason Overman I had a recurring nightmare as a child. From about five years of age to 12, I dreamed about my mother drowning and being unable to reach or rescue her. I’d wake in a sweat, or in tears, and run to her bedside, only…
Read moreThe Olympics and Learning to Limp
Like many, I watched some of the Olympics on TV over the past two weeks. The training and talent of the young athletes were breathtaking. Their vigor and vitality, to say nothing of their amazing feats, made me want to put on my running shoes, or swimsuit, and get outside — get in shape! It…
Read moreUnemployment: A Gift in Disguise
How God can work a negative into a positive. by Candace Simar You never thought unemployment could happen to you, but here you are jobless. Rather than feel sorry for yourself, take a deep breath and a second look. You may have been given the greatest gift of your life. Think about it. How…
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