As I stared into the porcelain bowl of a hotel bathroom on Sunday night, I wanted two things. First, to stop puking, and second, to go home—in that order. A stomach bug when you’re an airplane trip away from home is magnified misery. Think TSA, crowds, and carry-on luggage. Think airplane bathroom. Think seat-in-its-upright-position. On…
A troupe of builders was in and out of our house for much of this past fall. In the theater of our basement, they performed for a seven-week run—hammers, saws, and drills banging, humming, and buzzing in dissonant harmony, while a variety of radio stations blared out the melody of each day’s score. When they…
Tomorrow my friend Sarah will bury her husband, the first of my peer group to do so. And while she and I haven’t had much contact in the half-decade since I moved to a different state, Sarah will always be a special friend. When the devastating news of her loss reached me on Wednesday morning,…
Reposting today in memory of my friend Tim, who met Jesus last night, and shortly thereafter, I’m sure, was reunited with his dearly loved wife, Judy. The original post was written in September 2015, and at the time, I was pretty sure I’d never see Tim again this side of the new earth, and if…
A three-tiered platter filled with treats isn’t really designed for a two-person party, but we’re using it nonetheless this New Year’s Eve. It was supposed to be part of a new holiday tradition in our house, but things didn’t turn out that way. At least this year. One of the challenges of living away from…
Much of my world right now is midsummer green—a jungle of tomato plants, a row of towering sunflowers, a trellis overrun by cucumber vines, and chicken wire covered with sprouting beans and peas. There is the promise of fresh produce everywhere I look. The sun is bright, the air is warm. Flowers are blooming, grass…
My dad and I stood at the double doors to the sanctuary, waiting for twelve bells to chime and the doors to swing open. Looking at me, he said, “I’ve waited a long time for this day,” and I said, “Me, too, Dad. Me, too.” What I didn’t say—because I would have come undone—is that…
“We might be in trouble” are not words you want to hear when it’s -12 degrees outside and you have 125 miles of desolate highway between you and home. It was New Year’s Eve, and we were finally on the other side of back-to-back road trips to celebrate Christmas with both of our families—road trips…
I posted these thoughts three years ago, but they came to mind again yesterday during carol-singing at church, and I realized anew how much I am in need of this kind of teaching: While most churches don’t crack open hymnals anymore (if they even have them), the ones I’ve been part of typically still sing…
(Excerpted from Story of God Bible Commentary, Daniel, pp 58-59) The message of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that God is the one true king is as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was when Nebuchadnezzar caught a glimpse of the ages to come. World rulers and their empires are in God’s hands, and he directs the…
