Category Love

The Pursuit of Purpose

The degrees on your wall, the awards that you’ve earned You can’t take them with you, they’re going to burn The medals and trophies on top of your mantle Have as much staying power as smoke from a candle The…

Stink Lake

There is a ravine down the street from our house next to a community playground. And this versatile basin serves as a reservoir for stagnant water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and a hub for decomposing plums at various times…

Again…and again…and again!

“Children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people…

The Beauty of the Journey

“Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it. Sometimes I think there’s a man who sits behind a counter and says, ‘All right, you can have a telephone, but you lose privacy and the charm of…

Missing Mom

Dramatically sulking with a forlorn frown etched on her forehead, my daughter mournfully sighed. “I miss Mom.” This lament would have made sense when Mom was in Las Vegas at a Backstreet Boys concert…and it even would’ve been appropriate if…

Fridays with Brian

Millions of people worldwide have cried their way through Tuesdays with Morrie. This touching book chronicles the author’s visits with a former professor dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a terrible neurodegenerative disease, and I witnessed its devastating…

Steps to a Successful Marriage

Various programs that “guarantee” improved health, enhanced performance, unlimited energy, failproof financial security, and a host of other appealing things usually result in a charitable donation to an uncharitable person or entity. But when the kids in my church Youth…

Check Yourself…BEFORE You Wreck Yourself

As most of you know, I’ve done Youth Ministries and Vacation Bible School events for a long time. And the “Kids Say the Darndest Things” files seem to provide an eternal stream of concurrent hilarity and profundity…which is one of…

Birthday Musings

I initially sought some birthday inspiration from the Bible…but since Pharaoh and King Herod’sbirthday activities definitely aren’t on my agenda, I instead reflected on God’s goodnessthroughout my life. Even though my wife likes to remind me I’m “practically 40,” I…