Don’t Lose the Christ in Christmas

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the (more…)

A Family Likeness

Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.—1 Corinthians 4:16

I never looked like anyone in my birth family. My mother had medium brown hair, dark skin and blue eyes; my sister was blond, blue-eyed and big-boned; then there was tiny little black-haired, green-eyed me. “You must be adopted,” I heard more than once—from extended family members, no less.

In fact, everything about (more…)

The One That Got Away

Yesterday I received a magazine in the mail from my journalism school. I flipped to the back to see what some of my classmates had been up to, and I saw his name. His is the name that was announced as the winner of the prestigious scholarship I was supposed to receive. And for years I had imagined how my professional (more…)

Givers and Takers

The world is populated by two types of people: those who trust Jesus for their salvation and those who don’t. But within those two groups are the two subgroups of givers and takers.

Givers are especially good at giving and not so good at taking. Takers are especially good at taking and not so good at giving. Takers are drawn to givers. (more…)