Angels in the Outfield
Someone emailed me and said I was an idiot. Which is true, but not for the reasons they cited.
Inspiration
Beauty and the beastly: Obama used architecture to depress Americans. Trump uses it to lift people higher.
Three important things happened in 1953: Eisenhower began his peaceful and prosperous presidency, I was born, and the Keep America Beautiful campaign began.
The American Can Company and Owens-Illinois Glass Company got it rolling with the simple idea of not living like pigs who litter the streets, the parks and other things. Don’t be a litterbug! they said. And we stopped being litterbugs.
Well, most of us.
The Carpenter’s Hands
Fulton, New York. The year was 1940. The gray-haired man was behind his woodworking bench, clad in an apron. He was feeling around for his spokeshave. He was blind and deaf. His name was Tommy Stringer.
Becca’s Vacation
This house is a tomb. Ever since the kid left. We’ve had a kid here at the lake for the past several days. Our goddaughter. She left this morning.
No Pain, No Gain
Like physical therapy, God’s discipline may be painful in the moment, but His loving correction and training ultimately bring healing, holiness, and spiritual strength.
A Little Goodness
Dallas. The mid-1980s. There were three Mexican boys in the supermarket. The meat department. They were covered in sawdust and drywall mud. They were eyeing the beef, looking for the cheapest cuts. Counting their nickels and dimes.
To My Blind Dog
I am not sure whether you understand English, but I’d like to think you do. I’d like to think that you know exactly what I’m saying to you. I’d like to think I speak fluent dog.
Memorial Day: More than a Long Weekend
Memorial Day reminds Christians to honor those who sacrificed for earthly freedom while also remembering the eternal freedom purchased through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.
Our Father, Which Art in Heaven
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Even though this name has been so misused, misapplied, and misappropriated throughout history.
The Airport Aviary: Departures, Arrivals, and Other Human Migrations
I wonder who is watching me right now.
Someone must be watching me because I, too, am watching others. I am in the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. We are leaving Spain after spending the better part of a month here. And I am engaging in my second favorite pastime: people-watching.
Make A Wish
I don’t know how I got into this. No, wait. I remember.
My wife, that’s how I got into this. That’s how every crazy, halfcocked idea in my life starts. With her. Bungee jumping in Mexico is only one example.
Waiting For A Train In Spain: Confessions of a Biped
We had a three-hour layover in Santiago de Compostela where we had nothing to do but sit in an outdoor cafe, downtown, watching hordes of pilgrims arrive at the cathedral and publicly rejoice in Santiago Square.
With God’s Help—New Life
A faithful church grows not by human strength or pride, but by continually seeking God’s guidance and trusting Him to bring new life to both the congregation and the community.
Dispatches Del Camino
It is among the grandest churches in the world. It is one of the greatest achievements of man that took so long to build that architectural periods changed several times throughout its construction.
Even so, when you walk into Santiago de Compostela the first thing you see is not the cathedral. You neither see the gilded grandeur, nor the ornate.
The first things you see are pilgrims.
All Things Work Together For Good
In my previous two messages, I’ve shared the history of how Wisconsin Christian News came to be. Because we’re now praising the Lord for the start of our 27th year of publishing, I wanted to share with you what this journey has been like.
Dispatches Del Camino
Lugo, Spain, is a mini metropolis compared to the remoteness of the Camino Primitivo. For days we have been hiking in isolated mountains and faraway countrysides. It’s startling to see a city suddenly emerge from the landscape.
Dispatches Del Camino
Rain. It never stops coming. Rain, rain, rain. Sometimes it seems like all it does is rain.
It’s been raining for two days now on the Camino Primitivo. And there is no end in sight. Spanish news channels on television, which are wonderful media organizations whose reporters dress exquisitely, speak rapidly, and replay the same four news stories every six minutes, are predicting rain each day this week.
Uninspired
Even in seasons of mental exhaustion and spiritual dryness, God remains faithful, offering rest, grace, and quiet strength to weary hearts.
Dispatches del Camino
We find a table in the old Spanish café and order two cafés con leche. I order our breakfast by repeatedly tapping the menus and saying in English, “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know this word…”
My waitress finds my ordering technique amusing.