In Their Own Words
JOHN—My angel story takes place when my wife was dying, and I watched everything go downhill in a matter of months. And every night, I would hear a voice tell me “You can get through this, John.”
Inspiration
Among Us
Yeah, I believe in angels. I haven’t always. And sometimes I wish I didn’t believe. It would be easier not to.
The Dancers
The old man showed up to visit his granddaughter in the pediatric oncology wing of the hospital. He walked into his granddaughter’s hospital room. The little girl’s face turned 101 shades of thrilled.
The Last Walk to Jerusalem
Did Jesus know where His journey to Jerusalem would lead? Yes! And He did it for you and me and for our “everlasting life!”
The Big Day
I’ll call her Julie. Julie parked the car in the prison-visitor parking lot. Her hands were shaking, but not from nerves. More from excitement.
The Dogs Who Own Us
I used to volunteer at an animal shelter. I loved it. My favorite place in the shelter was called the “Introduction Room.” This was the room where people went to meet the dogs that were up for adoption.
We Must be the Masters of our Fate in America
Invictus” is a short poem first published in 1888 that expresses the speaker’s resolution to remain in control of his fate.
The Great Festival of People
Sometimes you meet people. People you feel like you’ve met before. Strangers whom you’ve mysteriously known all your life.
Somehow
Go Down, Moses
She was walking her hound. It was a young beagle. Loose skin. Smooshy face. Uncoordinated feet the size of Lodge skillets. I was in Forsyth Park, in the heart of Savannah. It was overcast and gray. There were various soccer teams on the field, doing drills. And I was mesmerized by the animal.
The Best Valentine
Do you look forward to Valentine’s Day, or do you try to ignore that it exists? There’s plenty of love out there for everybody.
Found in Translation
I don’t know her name. I don’t know anything about her. She is a sign language interpreter. That’s all I know. She sits onstage during tonight’s keynote address for the Savannah Book Festival. She is translating speech into ASL. She interprets for upwards of an hour.
A Cold Night In Louisiana
Somewhere in Louisiana. The Best Western. It’s late. The temperatures are freezing. I cannot feel my extremities. I am pretty sure the rock rolling around inside my shoe is my toe.
A Message For Her
To the woman who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The woman whose particular cancer, the doctor said, is the “bad kind.” Whatever the hell that means. Is there a “good kind” of breast cancer?
When Grace Gets Cancelled
Cancel culture seeks justice through exclusion, but the gospel calls Christians to a better way.
The Biggest Winner
Her husband left her with two kids and a Honda. She didn’t even have a place to stay. She moved in with her sister. She worked thankless jobs. And she hardly ever smiled. Not only because she was unhappy, but mostly because she was missing teeth.
A Story About a Fry Cook
The young man was quiet. He was a lowly fry-cook, salting endless baskets of French fries. Flipping acres of patties. Dropping pre-fried, shrink-wrapped, chemical-preservative-injected chicken breasts into nuclear silos of boiling synthetic lard.
Loud Guitars, Sharp Broadheads: Why Ted Nugent Still Matters to Michigan Hunters
There are rock stars… and then there are Michigan rock stars—the kind forged in cold air, hard miles, deer sign, and a stubborn refusal to apologize for loving the outdoors. Ted Nugent is that kind of animal.
Watching the Sky
The Holy Spirit is like a child waiting for snow—unpredictable, quietly exciting, and full of promise that something ordinary is about to be changed by God.
It’s A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird
It’s raining hard. Thundering loudly. Like the world is falling apart. And yet there is a mockingbird outside my window. The bird is unfazed by the downpour.
The Long Road
But in the end, the Camino de Santiago is just a road. That’s all it can ever be. The difference is, of course, when you’re on this road, you’re actually THERE.