God, Where Are You!?

In Mark 6:45-52 we read about Jesus walking on the water. In this account, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while He went up the mountain to pray. It was very late at night/early in the morning and the wind blew, causing...

“Did you dunk the cats yet?”

How would I answer that question? On the one hand, I didn’t dip the cats for fleas, but on the other hand, the cats would object. Violently. Hopefully, I misheard the question. Hopefully, I would make sure of what was said before I needlessly treat the cats...

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...

Those Among You Who Fear God

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Without Google, I could not tell you that Shakespeare wrote that in his play, Julius Caesar. I must have read it at some point, probably in high school, and the phrase stuck with me. Why? It uses vocative language to...

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...

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...

Yogi Berra

“Predictions are tough, especially about the future.” Yogi Berra had some great one-liners. This one is particularly appropriate right now. This was/will be a tense week. The election will have come and gone, but we might not have the results when this gets printed....

Really, Look for the Right Things!

Teaching chemistry can be difficult. You hate to ask the question, “What part did you not understand?” Mostly because you’ll get the answer, “That part starting after, ‘Good morning, class!’” To teach a single concept, you need to teach it several different ways. To...

Just What We Do

It had been a 100-hour workweek. An inspection was coming up, problems were cropping up, so our work hours went up. No one told us to work such hours. No one questioned the need for long hours. The mission dictated the workload, so we worked. It was just what we did....

Stand Up!

Why do we stand up? Sometimes the reason is simple. Perhaps we need to move, or the meal is over. But do we ever stand up for somebody? Grandpa walks into the room, and we stand up to give her a hug. Grandma gets to the restaurant late, and we stand up to greet her....

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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