The bowl rested on a small table near the altar. Inside, coiled like little snakes, were white rubber bracelets imprinted with blue letters: WWJU The “U” threw me for a loop. It was supposed to end with a “D,” as in “What Would Jesus Do?” The question was the second...

The other day, in the wee hours of the morning, a spring storm blew in with the fury of a toddler whose favorite toy had been taken away. We woke up to an eerily dark and quiet house – and it remained that way for over 15 hours as crews worked...

My dad grew up in a Texas sharecropper’s shack during the Great Depression. He was barely a teenager when the “Grasshopper Wars” began. The winged insects darkened the sky like storm clouds, swooping down on crops and stripping them to stubble. Driving turned dangerous as the roads became slick with...

Last year, I came across the phrase “God Wink.” It was coined by American author and inspirational speaker, Squire D. Russell, who defines it as “an event or personal experience, often identified as coincidence, so astonishing that it could only have come from divine origin.” I experienced such a “God Wink”...

My Facebook feed has been blowing up with Epiphany posts lately. You may have noticed that some of your friends have recently observed Epiphany and wondered what the fuss was all about. Epiphany is the “Twelfth Day of Christmas,” celebrating the revelation of God. Typical stories on and around this...

The crèche is a familiar sight during this time of the year. You can find simple nativity scenes on the mantles of homes, and more elaborate ones on town squares. Some churches even host live nativity scenes, complete with costumed characters and barnyard animals. Have you ever noticed that in many...

On November 29, my wife and I became grandparents for the first time. When I walked into the hospital to see my daughter cuddling little Charlotte, it was a magical moment, just like it was when all three of our children came into the world. The season of Advent is...

The political season seems to bring out the worst in some people. With midterm elections around the corner, I have seen snarky, rude and arrogant social media posts from both sides of the aisle.  Sadly, many Christians get caught up in this. To read their Facebook and Twitter pages, you would...

“How many of you here have ever doubted your belief that there is no God?” That was the question posed by radio commentator Dennis Prager at an annual American Atheists convention. A devout Jew, Prager noted that not one hand went up in the audience. Later, Prager noted, “I found...

I haven’t blogged all summer because, well, I’ve been depressed. I won’t go into details, but my family and I have slogged through some serious health and employment issues this year. These crises have spiked my anxiety levels and put the monkey of depression on my back once again. An...