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...

Why Did God Give Us the Book of Acts?

What did Bradbury mean when he wrote Fahrenheit 451? Many students of literature will give many different answers to that question. The easiest way to know what he meant was to ask him, “What did you mean?” But what if Bradbury is no longer available for an...

Reading Between the Lines

Have you ever been told, “Read between the line.”? Sometimes it is a subtle social cue, like not being invited to a wedding. Other times it is painfully obvious, like someone making a statement by wearing white after labor day…. Do we need to read between the lines to...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Legacy

“The one good thing this man did in his life was to die.” No preacher anywhere would actually say this at a funeral, and even fewer people would want to be remembered that way. So, what will people remember about us when we are dead? Hopefully, we will leave a...

Encouraging Words

We started at oh-dark-thirty. The jungle-like heat gave promise of another 90/90 day – 90% humidity and 90º F. The air was too thin to drink and too thick to breathe, much less run in at such an ungodly hour. Four miles in, staff started showing up like a cloud of...

If you get angry, count to ten…

Mark Twain’s version was, “When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.” Are Christians ever allowed to get that angry? In Acts 13:6–12, we see Paul get angry. Elymas, a false prophet, knowingly placed himself between the gospel message and a searching soul....

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...

read more

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...

read more
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...

read more