Hallmark Cards

Why does Hallmark make cards? Somehow they seem to have the exact right words for different situations. What do you say to someone in the hospital? Send them a get-well card! What do you say to new grandparents-to-be? Send them a get-well card too! What do you say to...

You’re Not the Boss of Me!

Imagine an older child telling a younger, “You need to clean up your room.” Would it surprise you if the younger said, “You’re not the boss of me!” Have you heard this same conversation? This “conversation” is a microcosm of the world at large today. Everyone wants to...

Can Any Forbid Water?

“Sir, you’re dehydrated.” The sergeant was checking how long the pale, pinched hands took to regain color. After ambush training, he checked everyone, including observers. “I know.” There was zero chance of me taking a lift from medical staff, especially in front of...

Just Because You Could

Just because you could doesn’t mean you should. I’m not sure who originally said it, but Jeff Goldblum comes pretty close in Jurassic Park. The scientists were so focused on making dinosaurs that they didn’t stop to consider if they should. (Spoiler: it didn’t work...

Greek Yogurt Is Terrible

Johnny stood, mouth open in disgust. “It gets stuck between your teeth, is too tough to chew, and tastes like day-old Dr. Pepper. Greek yogurt is yucky!” He wrinkled his nose even thinking about it. Jen paused her spoon an inch from her open mouth. “Have you ever...

Why Won’t They Listen?

We all want to be heard. Sometimes we speak with a ballot, other times by standing up in front of a group of people. Even giving someone the silent treatment is a way to say something. But why won’t some people listen? It could be that our reputation does not match...

Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

People fight, sometimes like cats and dogs. If that were not so, there would be no countries, politics, or generational gaps. It seems that people are drawn to conflict like mosquitos to a bug zapper. It doesn’t have to be that way. In Acts 13:1, there were five...

Down, but Not Out

We lose our job, or we are taken to court, or our character is assassinated by those we trusted most – there are so many ways others might make us feel down. When others hurt us, it is easy to feel down, but it is entirely our choice to feel out. In Acts 8:1-5, we see...

Look for the Right Things!

“There’s your problem!” He found the problem. The air conditioner stopped, but that was a symptom, not the cause. A short in the outlet literally burned away the metal prongs. Fix the outlet, and the AC will sort itself out. Why did I need help to figure out the...

Such a small thing.

A tempest in a teapot. Making a mountain out of a molehill. All hat, no cattle. Never mind, the last doesn’t belong with the first two, but it is so easy to make a big deal about a minor point. In Acts 8:14-17, we read about when the Samaritan Christians received the...

New Testament

God Has a Better Plan

God Has a Better Plan

Two thousand years ago, Elizabeth wanted children. In her culture, children were her priority. She didn’t have any, therefore others looked down on her. Her society wrote her off as too old to be a successful Jewish woman. She was too old to have children. She was...

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Greek Yogurt Is Terrible

Greek Yogurt Is Terrible

Johnny stood, mouth open in disgust. “It gets stuck between your teeth, is too tough to chew, and tastes like day-old Dr. Pepper. Greek yogurt is yucky!” He wrinkled his nose even thinking about it. Jen paused her spoon an inch from her open mouth. “Have you ever...

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Come and See!

Come and See!

Nurses just know. They’ve been there, done that. They say, “Just slap a bandaid on it and stop complainin’!” But that same gruff nurse who blows off our ouches and owies as an annoyance will soften like butter in the warm, Texas sun when confronted with a patient who...

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Old Testament

Change Is Tough

Change Is Tough

The Air Force provides a lot of training, very little of it on a volunteer basis. One of the trainings I took was in “Change Management.” It may have had a different, more military sounding name, something like “Non-linear Progression of Leadership Requirements” but I...

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The A-Team

The A-Team

When the Air Force stationed my dad overseas, the only real disadvantage of living “on the economy” was a lack of US TV programs. If you lived close enough to base, you could watch the Armed Forces Network, but we lived too far away. Somehow, one of the American...

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