We all have times in life when we feel like we’re on top of the world, and other times when we are in the deepest of valleys. In our “Straight Up” services on the 1st and 3rd Thursday evenings of each month, we have been examining characteristics of mountaintop experiences. This week, I will be [...]
How necessary is artistic expression in the human experience? I asked this question to a group of performers who do not believe in God. They are passionate about art and their role in contributing to the “human conversation” through art. They are so passionate about art that they have forfeited better paying jobs and financial [...]
Christmas took on a whole new meaning for me when Pam and I had children. Sally was born on Thanksgiving Day, which marked a new era in our Christmas celebrations! This difference intensified as the years went by and we added two more children to our family. We loved Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to [...]
The definition of “obey” is: to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of. As I ponder that definition I think back to my childhood habits of obedience. I would comply with my mother’s commands as long as these commands did not interrupt my plans or my desires. In fact, I learned [...]
When I was in high school, I had to write an extended outline on the French Revolution. This was for an English class. The purpose was to teach us how to write a detailed outline. But I didn’t know anything about the French Revolution! I had to spend hours researching this topic. And then I [...]
“The doctor will see you now.” Bill’s appointment was for 9:00 am and it’s now 10:30 am. Bill would have left an hour ago, but he really needs to see the doctor! He has this relentless pain in his lower abdomen that has been persistent for days. The nurse was kind enough to “fit him in”, but he didn’t expect to [...]
I remember the day I learned that you are not automatically loved and adored by everyone for simply being alive. I transferred from our small two-room church school with a total enrollment of 30 students to a large “junior high school” with 11oo kids. Suddenly, I really had to prove myself in order to be loved, [...]
In my post two days ago, I didn’t answer the question I asked in the title. And I even asked another question at the end of that post… Since you can’t judge your faith by how you are treated on this earth, how do you know you are acting in faith? Good things happen to people [...]
David decided to go on a mission trip to Central America. He had never been on a mission trip, but felt convicted by God to go on this one. He saved his money, made his plans, and went with a group of young people to serve those less fortunate than he. This particular mission team [...]
You can learn a lot about a person by what they say about themselves. There are those who only talk about themselves and then there are those who never talk about themselves. We tend to distrust both ends of this spectrum. We’re not sure what to believe when a person only talks about himself. He tells so [...]
