Bluegrass and Jesus I attended my first bluegrass concert last week . . . and it was not what I expected. The music was not a surprise. I’ve heard and enjoyed bluegrass before, including well-known songs such as “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and “The Devil Went...
Reflections on the Names of God: The Devotional That Keeps on Giving! Ten years ago, I held my first published book, a one-year devotional on the names of God. Revell Books of Baker Publishing Group first released it in hardcover. That was just the beginning....
Love, Care, Share In a world where love, care, and sharing seem to be in short supply, a friend’s prayer request brought deep conviction Her request? “Pray that I 'love deeply, care openly, share boldly.'” Wow . . . and ouch. This prayer request of hers has...
Context is King One of my favorite scenes from The Princess Bride includes a conversation between a character named Inigo Montoya and the arch-villain. Montoya spends much of the story listening to the arch-villain repeatedly use the word inconceivable. But...
Recover Stolen Peace Heartache consumed Margarite. A mature Christian in her mid-twenties, she had struggled to accept a series of significant losses. In the span of three years, five people close to her died. She understood grieving was a long-term process,...
Quotes About Real Love February is thought of as the month of love, with Valentine’s Day taking center stage. But Cupid’s arrows have little to do with true love. You and I have the capacity for deep and abiding love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19)....
Four Chaplains, Four Lifejackets, and Courage Courage was my “One Word” for 2021. So I’ve been especially sensitive to mentions and illustrations of courage. Today’s date is another reminder of the face of true courage. Seventy-nine years ago during WW2, four...
It Is What It Is I have a friend who is fond of saying, “It is what it is.” She makes this observation when faced with unpleasant circumstances or situations outside of her control. I confess, that statement has always bothered me. What’s the point? The phrase...
Holding on to Faith in the Midst of a Fuzzy Future Ahhh . . . a new year. The future wrapped in a new beginning. Twelve months of potential. But not everyone is optimistic about the future. Some say that if the past couple of years is any indication, we’re in...
Keeping Unity as We Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. As Christians, we don’t make unity, we keep unity. Because of Christ, Christians from every tribe, tongue, and nation are already unified by the Holy Spirit. But we don’t always behave that way, do we? I...
“What If” or “Even If”? Why is it easier to focus on the negative? On every fear-inducing “what if”? Yes, the...
Who Is El Elyon and Why Should We Care? The more I read and listen to news reports of current events, the more...
How Do You Respond to Adversity? There’s something refined about a tea party, isn’t there? Perhaps we enjoy tea...