Suppose I knew ahead of time that the people who cheered for me one day, would sneer at me five days later. That the people who showered me with praise one day would hurl insults the next. How would I respond to the accolades, applause, and admiration of others on a Sunday…if I knew those same people would turn their backs on me and shake their raised fists at me the following Friday? Read more…
My brother was thirteen years old when a band of bullies on bikes encircled him like buzzards taunting their prey. He was outmanned and outnumbered. I thought it was the end. But then my dad pulled up in his Pontiac. He didn’t even get out of the car, but simply rolled down the window and gave a look that said, Read more…
I was so confused. I was talking to God, but it seemed He wasn’t talking to me. There seemed to be a barrier between us. I was single, twenty-years old, and needed to make an important decision about my future, but I wasn’t hearing from God.
Have you ever had that experience? Talking but not hearing. Asking but not receiving? Read more…
I saw an instagram post that said, “Don’t you wish that liar’s pants really would catch on fire!” There would certainly be a lot of flaming pants if that were true. Let’s talk today about how to respond when “the father of lies” speaks his native language.
We were in the fictional town of Amity Island, NY, where Jaws the man-eating shark, Read more…
There is so much toxic talk these days. Political ads, tweets, FB posts, and heated arguments among family and friends. It makes me tired. Does it you? It reminds me of an oil spill.
Remember when that 1,200 miles of Alaskan shoreline was covered with black slimy crude oil by the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Eleven million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Prince William Sound and disrupted the ecological balance of nature. Read more…
Do you ever felt like you’re just not enough? I admit, I struggled with that feeling for way too long. If that’s been part of your story, then let me share part of mine.
I became a Christian when I was a teenager. But even after I made a commitment to follow Christ, feelings of inferiority, Read more…
Have you ever had times when you felt like you just couldn’t breathe? Stress weighs you down and the “to-do list” becomes the “too-much to-do list.” Sometimes we just need a friend to come and breathe life into us. And one of the ways they do that is with words.
When I was in my teens, I went scuba diving with some friends. Read more…
Sometimes God will bring people who need encouragement across our paths in the most mysterious ways. That’s why we need to slow down and look around. Be sensitive to the little nudges of the Holy Spirit. You never know when you will be someone else’s miracle.
Jon Robinson experienced an unexpected miracle at a crucial time in his life. Read more…
On a shelf in my living room sits a black-and-white photograph of a young girl taken in the early 1900s. Her hair is pulled back with an oversized bow peeking from behind the edges of her head. Her dress is typical of the times, with puffed sleeves and a brimming lace collar resting on her shoulders. She isn’t smiling, and she appears to be somewhat awkward, Read more…
One Sunday my pastor had to do some housekeepin’ fussin’ at our congregation before he started his sermon. It was a “visitors, close your ears” moment as Jimmy interrupted the service for an important message from our neighbors.
See, right beside our church property is a city park. On Sundays, when our parking lot is full, we tend to use the city park lot for our overflow parking. Read more…