Time to Reflect
I am headed to my 20 year high school reunion this weekend. Special occasions like this always put me in a reflective mood. Personally, I like to reflect. I like to evaluate the ebb, flow and patterns in my life, even though I don’t always like what I see and what God tells me I must do →
Good Samaritans
Perhaps you heard the story of Wesley Autrey from a few years ago. Autrey, a 50 year old construction worker from New York City was standing on the subway platform with his two daughters who were heading downtown to see their mother when a man dropped to the platform floor from a seizure. Autrey quickly ran for the →
Misery Meets Grace
My eleventh Christmas started out as the worst Christmas experience of my life. That was the year I had the bright idea that it would be fun to secretly find out what all my presents were before Christmas morning. So, two weeks prior to Christmas I snuck into my parent’s room and spoiled the surprise. Waking up that Christmas →
Spoiling Christmas
At the age of eleven I went through a phase in which I just needed to know what I was getting for Christmas before Christmas morning. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to know these secrets in my younger years; it’s just that my methods became a little less conventional. In earlier years I would simply find out what my →
Caught with Our Hands in the Banana Jar
Perhaps you’ve heard the old story of the scientists who placed a banana in a jar and placed the jar inside a monkey’s cage. The opening of the jar was large enough so the monkey could slip his hand down in the jar and grasp the banana but when the monkey tried to remove his hand with banana in →
Homes and Hearts in Order
A transformation takes place in our home in the days leading up to the arrival of guests. I don’t know if it is a result of how my wife and I were raised or if it is a common practice among human beings, but we shift into a different mindset during this time. We do everything we can to →
Beyond My Control
The older I get the more and more I realize there are many things in life that are beyond my control. Yet, I find myself trying on a regular basis to control many of them. What I have also realized is this is a phenomenon that is shared by many of my fellow human beings. Take time for example. →
Thanks in Everything
I recently had a stark reminder of my tendency to take things for granted. It all began when I arrived home after a day out with the family to find our homestead engulfed in a cold front. I immediately checked the circuit breaker thinking that maybe we had tripped it, but to my chagrin everything was fine there. It →
Growing Up On Commercials
Growing up commercials taught me the basic truths of life. If you are honest with yourself I bet they taught you some of the basic truths of life as well. Here are some of the things I learned about life from commercials. I learned that they don’t make things like they used to from a grandma who just wanted →
Time
Life is busy. It seems there aren’t enough hours in the day to maneuver, better yet cram, everything in that is screaming for a slot on the docket. And no matter who you are, no matter what you do, we all have the same amount of time allotted to us each day, 24 hours or 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. →
Under Control
I’m reading a book right now by Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver. He recounts the building of the ark by Noah, highlighting how God was so particular with the details of how it should be built. God provided specifications for particular materials and exact measurements but there were two critical things left out; a sail and a rudder. Imagine building →
Afraid?
I shared this poem John Stam, martryed missionary, shared with his father in a letter shortly before his martyrdom. Since college this poem has had a powerful impact on my life, praying it may do the same for some others. Afraid? Afraid? Of what? To feel the spirit’s glad release? To pass from pain to perfect peace, The strife and strain of life to cease? Afraid—of →
Ironclad Convictions
During the 1924 Olympics held in Paris one young man was recognized as much for what he didn’t do as for what he did. They called him the ‘Flying Scot’ and he was Britain’s Golden Boy. If anyone could win the country a gold medal he could. But Eric Liddell went from Golden Boy to turncoat because of his refusal →
Nip and Tuck
The wonders of modern medicine never cease to amaze, neither does the depth of human vanity. The combination of the two has turned into a booming business in which anything we want nipped, tucked, tweaked, or enhanced is medically possible. It is literally possible with the right amount of money or the right insurance to transform oneself into someone →
Babies, Bulls, and Buddy Lee
Love is one of the most sought after and needed things among the human race. Studies have shown that babies who are depraved of love actually experience long lasting physical, emotional, psychological and physiological damage. This was clearly evidenced by some information compiled by Rene Spitz. In a South American orphanage, Spitz observed and recorded what happened to 97 →
Firmly Resolved
I came across an inspiring story of a young woman who took a stand for her faith in Jesus Christ. This story did not originate from some foreign country in which individuals must hide their relationship with Jesus Christ behind closed doors and it is not a story from centuries past. This story took place just a few years ago right →
The Power of Mixing 2 Great Things
The following is an article written for MorningStar Baptist Church's monthly newsletter, Revelations. Much of the content is an adaptation of concepts found in Reggie Joyner's book, Think Orange. Pray for us as we seek to fill this critical pastoral position in our church. I have a confession. I like to mix foods. I have another confession. The mixtures don’t always →
High Yield Investing
I’m starting to think a lot more about investing than I did a few years ago. For one thing I’m older and realizing that someday I may retire, but in order to do that I’ve got to have something stashed away somewhere. I also have a family now and I am thinking about their security if something were →
Fear
Fear is one of the most powerful influences driving our lives, and to varying degrees we all stare it down on a regular basis. It is an influence that both draws and repels us. We hate the fact that we are fearful and try to avoid those things which send a chill down our spine and cause us to →
So many “Pacos”
I recently came across a Spanish story of the relationship between a father and son which became so estranged that the teenage son ended up running away from home. Realizing the consequences of his stubbornness the father quickly had a change of heart and began a journey in search of his estranged son. The father searched for several weeks →
Journeys & Destinations
This was originally written specifically for the church I pastor but thought is might be helpful for all of us. So I figured I'd share. I had the privilege of hiking through Clifton Gorge earlier this week. For those of you who have been there I’m sure you agree that it is a privilege, and with the foliage changing color it →
Rain
For several years I had the privilege of living in a place called Smith Mountain Lake. It was a region with incredible natural beauty that was overwhelmingly present almost everywhere you looked. In the few years I lived in and around this area I have never grown tired of the breathtaking views of the mountains or the tranquility of driving across →
Information Overload
Have you noticed how we analyze everything? You can go on the internet, pick up any newspaper or switch on the radio or TV and inevitably you will find someone analyzing something. Whether you are interested in an analysis of something as significant as the inner workings of the human heart or as insignificant as the evolution of the Oscar →
Whose idea was it to make bumper cars dodge ‘ems?
There used to be a ride at fairs and in amusements parks that was a little boys dream. It was the bumper cars. For most boys between the ages of three and ten you couldn’t get much better than the bumper cars. This little ride gave young boys not only the opportunity to drive but also the opportunity to →
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