People tend to idealize most things.  Sally envies Jane’s marriage even allowing herself to think how much better life would be if only she had a husband like that.  In the dead of winter, we are sure that a vacation… Continue reading

The Gospel I ‘heard’ as a young child and the Gospel I love at age 56 are very different in the telling. Both center on the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Both feature the Cross and the Resurrection prominently.… Continue reading

Anxiety occasionally comes tiptoeing to my bedside in the early morning hours. It jerks me awake and brings tumbling thoughts, feelings of fear and despair. Those emotion can quickly evolve into physical symptoms; racing heartbeat, shortness of breath. Some would… Continue reading

Anticipation is half the fun of big events. I’m excited as we head for this Sunday’s game. The “SuperBowl” has become an unofficial holiday for Americans, a break in winter doldrums, an excuse to have a party, throw off the… Continue reading

The company that owns the social network site called “Facebook” announced a stock offering yesterday.  When it happens,  California will have hundreds of new millionaires, people who made a fortune out of creating friendships in the 21st century. I use… Continue reading

On Tuesday, I met with a pastor who is a missionary/pastor to the United States from Nigeria and a friend of his who is a pastor in Nigeria. We talked about the church in the United States before we prayed… Continue reading

Are you wise? Wisdom is knowledge matched with understanding. There is probably no time in a person’s life that is more packed with danger than the teen years. Why?  Because teens generally have greater freedoms but they have not yet… Continue reading

Do you find having a civil conversation somewhat more difficult these days?  The high pressure, fast moving way that we live has seriously diminished our ability to discuss things on which we disagree without soon coming to sharp disagreement. We… Continue reading

Dr. George O. Wood, head of the national church in which I serve, a man who is head of 30,000 ministers and 11,000 churches, offered this homely observation. “If a church’s restroom is clean, it says that the leadership is… Continue reading

From where I sit, it appears that ‘criticizing the leader’ is our new national sport! President Obama is regularly subjected not just to observations about his policies, but harsh criticism about everything he’s done by the panels on FOX. If… Continue reading