A Prayer

Holy God, You Who are Creator of All That Is, You Who are Love’s source and example, You Who are the great I am, You who are the eternal comforter, and You who are Redeemer of mankind through the ages – past, present, and future – please hear this prayer. You are...

He Already Knew

I was retiring. The Air Force had approved the paperwork and set the date. Unfortunately, that didn’t get me out of some formalities of paperwork. Once you have been in for a while, your record goes before promotion boards. The single most important part of that...

Right Hace! Forward Harch!

I remember learning to march. The drill instructor was very patient and repeated a command as many times as necessary for all of us to get it. We carried refreshments around with us on our belts. We smiled a lot. It was spring. It was beautiful. Or maybe not… The...

Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

Why do we have that saying? Some news is unwelcome. The Jews didn’t like the message Jesus brought. They didn’t have guns, but they did have stones to silence the messenger. In John 8:39-59, Jesus continues to teach the Jews truth, but an unpopular truth. Rather than...

It Is Finished

How much longer? Maybe you have a countdown app on your phone, or you place a big “X” on the calendar every day. Sometimes it can’t just get here soon enough. A birthday, graduation, retirement, or getting out of a cast/quarantine can make time feel like it is...

No Vacancies

Have you ever noticed the unlit “NO” before the “VACANCIES” sign at a roadside motel? It is a clever way to send one of two messages, “We have room, stop here!” or “We have no room, keep going.” Finding “NO VACANCIES” on a trip is frustrating, but living your life...

“So I Prayed to the God of Heaven”

Nehemiah was sad, and that was an occupational hazard. He was the scribe of the king, a king who could kill on whim. Anyone in service of the king was well advised to appear loyal, devoted, and sublimely joyful before the king — but Nehemiah was sad. Nehemiah must...

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...

Double-take

Sometimes we have to do a double-take. We miss it at first glance, and we have to look at it again to really see it. In John 17, we read Jesus’ prayer to the Father. In this single chapter, Jesus uses the word “world” 18 times! How important was the world to Jesus if...

What Did You Even Ask?

The air was too thick to breathe and too thin to drink. Looking at the grass, which was now less than an inch from his head, his quivering arms finally gave out. Only 12 pushups, not 20. The recruit muttered to himself, “How am I ever going to do more pushups?” Like a...

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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