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...

Something was lost in translation

Language doesn’t always make sense. If you were to ask a new-to-English-speaker, “What’s up?” the logical answer is, “the sky.” That answer does not actually answer the question that was intended. America’s favorite Bible verse is kind of like that. We see it on...

Jesus Wept

Sometimes the significant figures of history seem distant with little humanity. George Washington is a monolith on the National Mall. Abraham Lincoln sits in a big chair, staring off into the distance. They existed, but don’t feel real. But Grandpa, I could relate to...

Wrong Side of the Tracks

Some people are just born on the wrong side of the tracks. By luck of birth, one person is socially desirable, and another is undesirable. The Jews thought Jesus was from the wrong side of the tracks. He came from the region of Galilee. His home town was Nazareth, a...

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...

Bring me a rock

In the Air Force, and probably the other branches as well, you don’t always get clear guidance on tasks. A boss once asked for a report on a long-range plan. After working on it for weeks, he said,  “I was thinking something with more clouds to indicate...

You Didn’t Say, “Simon Says!”

Do you remember playing that game with neighbors and friends as a kid? The idea was to get someone confused and not really listening, then you would gleefully say, “Jump like a frog!” Then  one of the other kids would – but you didn’t say, “Simon says” so he...

I Am an American…

The first article of the Code of Conduct is, “I am an American fighting in the forces that guard my country and our way of life, I am prepared to give my life in their defense.” The heart of the Code is love. Dying for the country is love. In John 15:13, Jesus says,...

Parsimony is a Virtue

The colonel told me to keep it short. His exact words were, “Parsimony of word is a virtue.” I don’t know if he quoted someone famous, but it did reflect an ancient American proverb, “Waste not, want not.” In John 12:3-5, Mary opened very costly perfume, poured it on...

But God Raised Him From the Dead

I remember my first office. No longer living in a cubicle, the trappings of the office were nice. It would have been easy to let it go to my head. The office didn’t exist as a reward but as a tool to do my job more effectively. The most important part was the job. 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...

read more
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...

read more
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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