I was blowing the dust off of some of my Grandma’s old photo albums the other day and looking at pictures of that little boy I used to be. One in particular caught my eye. I was smiling, sitting in a corner chair by an old bookcase, hugging my best friend in the whole...
It was over 20 years ago. I was holding my baby son in my arms while my two other children played under a big tree in the front yard of an old house. The house was also a local food bank and I was watching my children while my wife went in. I had been laid off work...
"What was the most delicious meal you ever had?" That was the question in an online survey that popped up on my screen the other day. I moved my mouse over and clicked out of the survey, but the question stayed with me. As I thought about it only one answer came to my...
"Jesus said to him, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all...
"This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalms 118:24) When I was a boy I used to look forward to Christmas morning with all the eager anticipation of a child. I couldn’t wait to crawl under the tree, pull out my presents, and rip off...
I noticed something amusing while I was shaving this morning: the lines in my forehead have quit disappearing all the way. They are easy to see too because the long, thick, wavy hair that used to cover them doesn’t come down that far anymore. It has become trapped...
"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:18 NIV) "Why are you smiling?", my daughter asked me the other day. It was too complicated to answer her right away. I had been lost in thought. I had been thinking about my...
I just love weekday afternoons in May. It is during this special time that I get to see one of the most wonderful sights in the world. It is a sight that teaches me again and again about what life truly is all about. I get to see it mainly when I go to pick up my...
"Good fences make good neighbors", the television commentator said, misquoting Robert Frost for the millionth time in my memory. It made me wonder if the esteemed poet was not looking down from Heaven and sadly shaking his head. No line of poetry has ever been more...
I was looking out on the woods that surround my house today as I walked through the melting snow. It seemed so strange to see how the trees looked in the middle of winter. Their black, gray, and brown trunks were twisted, wet, and gnarled. They were full of chipped...