The other night I decided to eat some ice cream. I had purchased a half gallon of my favorite; Rocky Road, and I could hardly wait to sink my spoon into the awesome, delicious bowl of heavenly decadence. As I grabbed the carton out of the freezer, I discovered something odd. The carton of ice cream was empty. You couldn’t tell from the outside, but when I opened it up, I discovered the spoon of the bandit hidden inside...
My wife accuses me of being the poster boy for procrastination. It seems as if my life motto since I retired is “why do something today that I can put off until tomorrow.” Perhaps you can relate. There might be a home improvement project you’ve been meaning to do, but nothing gets done. A call you’ve been intending to make but haven’t. A trip home you’ve been putting off...
Adversity is our lives is real. There is nothing like hardship to make you question the reality of God’s existence. Whenever you and I are plowing through rough times, one of the important lessons we can learn is to draw strength from others. The Bible tells us that a friend loves at all times, and that a brother is born for adversity. This week, I learned the truth of that verse...
It is me again. I love you and I know that You love me. Your Word tells me that You know my burdens and the longings of my heart. The weights that I carry deep within me. I speak not of the struggles from my daily encounters, like job, or family, but the unseen questions of life that no one sees. The battles with inner demons that lurk in the shadows of the mind. The ones that keep me awake at night, that tire my soul...
Today, the church has tried to water down the gospel so much that it is practically non-existent. Like diluted coffee, the convicting power of the “good news” has been replaced with weak, more bland messages that are designed to tickle the ear but do hardly anything to save the soul. Many a preacher prefers to attract large followings by offering cotton candy sermons, that taste sweet, but do nothing to lead sinners to repentance...
As I reflect on this past year, I am reminded of how dark our existence has become. In the new normal, we find ourselves more and more isolated than ever. The pandemic has stripped away at our work, at our schools, and even forced its way into our homes. Like the thief in the night, the virus has robbed us of time and memories, forced us to listen to dire warnings that something wicked this way comes...
I have a dog who has developed the habit of begging. Every time I go into the kitchen to prepare a meal, my chihuahua marches in, and starts barking incessantly. He demands my attention and will not stop until I throw some scrap of something down past his nose. I suppose in his own way, he has become engrained with the fact that I will always toss some small morsel his way. The trouble is that he always wants more, and he is not afraid to beg me with every ounce of energy to get it...
When my father passed away many years ago, my sister and I had the task of sorting through lots of his belongings. Decades of papers, receipts, tools and knickknacks that he had collected over the years were stashed here and there, all over the place. A basement full of unfinished projects. Closets full of boxes. Papers tossed here and there. VHS tapes by the hundreds. I don’t mean to imply that my father was a hoarder or anything...
Throughout our lives, we meet people who have such an impact on our hearts and minds that they literally change us. Perhaps as you think about your own life, you recall a high school teacher who inspired you to learn. A coach who challenged you to work hard and instilled in you the idea that practice does indeed make perfect. A parent who spoke God’s Word into your heart, who modeled the things of God in front of you. A friend who stood by you through the darkest of days...
I am almost ashamed to admit it, but if you had known me in junior high school, you would have thought something was wrong with me. I was the kid with the flattop haircut, horned rimmed glasses taped right in the middle and mechanical pencil in my pocket. Everyday, I would get up, get dressed, put on a shirt and tie, and grab my briefcase. (Yes, a real samsonite). Out the door I would go, down the alley, cutting through a neighbor’s yard, and walking by the football field to class. I lived about a block from school...
The other day I walked outside our home only to notice that the bushes in the front needed trimming badly. Over the past year, I had really let them go. So, I got my electric hedge trimmer out and went after them, whacking here and there, trying to make them look more presentable. As I got to the end of the long row of bushes, the cord got hung up. I gave it a good yank, trying to stretch it just a little bit farther...
The other day, I found my inner child fussing at myself. Basically, my mind had watered some seeds of pessimism that had sprouted into words spoken about myself by myself. In that moment, I realized that this negative self-talk was more than just a momentary lapse. It was a conditioned habit, rooted in a self-loathing that I have felt for decades. For most of my entire life, I have battled an inner belief that I was just not good enough...
On a vacation I took years ago, my family and I stopped Caprock Canyons state park in Texas. At the edge of the parking lot, I noticed a peculiar warning sign. The notice had a huge picture of a rattlesnake and a warning to walk along the path at your own risk. As I read the fine print of the sign, it informed us that nearly 8,000 people a year are bitten by snakes. Despite the warnings, my kids and I walked on...