Bible

What’s Will Be Your New Year’s Revolution?

As you look back on 2012, ask yourself what set this year apart from, say, 2011 or 2010 or 1994, for that matter. And then ask yourself whether it really matters.
This past year brought a lot of changes in my life. One big change was a greater degree of professional success. But, honestly, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is how (more…)

The Giver of Good Gifts

We put so much thought into Christmas presents, and they are such a source of stress. Will the recipient be happy? Should I include a gift receipt? Did I spend enough? Did I spend too much? Will our gifts even be remembered in years to come?

Some of our gifts may get packed away  or even regifted. But still we give, because (more…)

Walk This Way

We teach children how to walk and talk and interact and master skills by imitation. That’s sometimes a good thing, and it’s sometimes a bad thing, depending on what word or behavior they’re imitating. And all parents have their stories on that one.
I remember, for instance, being at our local science center with my youngest, who loved creating dams in a (more…)

News Flash: Thanksgiving Is Not an Annual Event

Turkey with gravy. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce. Sweet potato casserole. Pumpkin pie. Autumnal weather. Football. Family. The upcoming Christmas season. These are the things we love about Thanksgiving.

Family strife. Vacant seats at the table. A scarcity where there should be a bounty. The reminders of loneliness and need and grief that loom over the season like foreboding clouds. Black Friday. (more…)

God Forbid – But God Permits

As a writer, I study people. I study the way they look and move and think and talk. (Yes, your quirk of pacing while you talk on the phone could show up in one of my characters.) And I only recently noticed a common behavior associated with the popular idiomatic expression “God forbid.”
I always hear that term when people broach the (more…)