By grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone
Bob was an average guy, that’s how he described himself anyway. Few would disagree. His wife sometimes thought she could have done better, but as her friend reminded her one time, “You could have done much worse, girl.” His son didn’t mind him. It was just that life had passed dad by, like outdated milk […]
A few Saturday’s ago I ventured into the world of the “crafter.” Do you know what I mean? They are the folks whose favorite store is Michael’s and are counting the days until the opening of the next Hobby Lobby. It is a world of glue-guns and yarn and sequins and muslin; it is a […]
Our kids are getting older, but it’s still fun to watch them open their Christmas gifts. Basketballs, bicycles, and dolls have given way mostly to clothes these days, but the joy of giving and receiving continues. Through the years, as mom and dad, we hit some home runs (electronics), and we hit some singles (cool […]
Tyson likes car rides. He enjoys sticking his boxer head out the window. Adjacent cars stare at him; he stares back. I’m not sure how he breathes at 35 mph, both nostrils to the wind—but he doesn’t complain. After a while he will look out the back window for a time. Then he will stick […]
In January, a young man slammed into a telephone pole. The car was engulfed in flames, and he died. I didn’t know the young man well, but every once in a while he and his father showed up Tuesday and Thursday mornings to play basketball with us at the “Y”. My observation, the father and […]
The Episcopalians were in the midst of their orthodox U-turn in the 90’s; they were chucking out doctrine left and right. I recently discovered some humor that floated around some Episcopalian forums and blogs at the time. Self-proclaimed conservative Episcopalians were asking one another, “What do we do now?” The story below was no doubt […]
Assyria was riding high. They were knocking off kingdoms left and right. The northern kingdom of Israel was a recent victim. The southern kingdom of Judah was rightfully worried. Assyria said they were coming after them next. What would Judah do? In their time of great need, to whom would they turn? In a word, […]
It was a nice family; a mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter. Mom and Dad thought they always would have a larger family, but they were thankful for the two children God had given them. Then, unexpectedly, Mom got pregnant. Dad had a nephew who needed a home. Son had a friend who […]
This is Joel’s third year of cross-country. We’ve enjoyed his many meets and the culture of distance running. There’s much to admire about the typical cross-country kid. He generally doesn’t have an ego—there are few fans. He generally isn’t the greatest athlete—the skillset required is that you can run. He generally isn’t too mindful of […]
“Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin”; so said Charles Spurgeon in the mid-19th century. We could update the quote giving it the punch it needs in our day: “Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than a […]
The king wrote the law. He gave it to his sons. They were to take it throughout the land. The first went to the people. In each village he proclaimed, “Hear ye, hear ye, I bring you the words of the king. His word is law. You must obey it. You will be held accountable. […]
He said “church sucks.” The surprise isn’t the off-color phrase he used; no doubt, many others have said it before. The surprise is who said it. He’s the pastor of the One Love Church in Eugene. He and his church are in the midst of their “Church Sucks” campaign, sending out mailers to hundreds of […]