Top 10 Things I Learned With the Flu
My family got slammed with the flu last week, as my daughter Rachel slid into the abyss first, followed by me (Heidi thankfully was spared). After 24 hours with the virus, I became a shivering mass of flesh, pitifully prone in fetal position with layers of blankets on top of me. Somehow I knew then that I was being summoned to […]
After Christmas—A Glimmer of Heaven
For some, the days after Christmas can be a letdown. The presents are opened and the feasts are finished. But for me and my family, it was anything but a letdown. What we all felt was a glimmer of heaven. Here’s what happened. My oldest daughter got married right after Christmas, and it was an added thrill for […]
Preparing for Christmas, Week 4: Christmas In Reverse
In the end, how can we prepare ourselves for Christmas with only four days left? By trying Christmas In Reverse. What do I mean? I once heard the story of a Stealth fighter plane performing training maneuvers one night. It was flying low to the ground at a fast rate of speed when the pilot noticed […]
Preparing for Christmas, Part 3: STOP THE FRENZY!
I did something that no teacher would ever advise, yet it turned out to be a watershed experience for my class. Interestingly enough, it is just what we need to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Let me explain. I still teach a high school class at Christ Presbyterian Academy, where I taught full time for many years. That one class, Men […]
Preparing for Christmas, Part 2: It Feels Awful
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king; let every heart prepare him room…” We sing this every Christmas, but what exactly does it feel like to prepare room in your heart for Jesus? It can feel awful. Let me explain. A number of years ago, our family got the chance […]
How To Prepare for Christmas
Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent, and it’s time to prepare our hearts for Christmas. We do this for only one reason, so that the light of Christmas can shine into our hearts, so that His light becomes our light, the light of a felt, interior joy that shines out from us to a darkened world. But how? How does […]
Being thankful…in the rain
What am I thankful for this week? It came during the rain on Sunday. Heidi and I often walk early on Sunday mornings to get ourselves moving and to enjoy the outdoors. It was cloudy this Sunday, but on the warmish side. Rain was supposed to move in later, so we thought we could get in […]
What is the vision for your life?
Each of us needs a vision for our lives, something above the helter-skelter of daily life, something that we can give ourselves to and know the reason why we are alive. Once we come to Jesus, I believe he will give each of us something unique and precious to do that will become the vision for our […]
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
The question took me by surprise. It came in a conversation with a close friend who has walked with me over the past few years. We were talking about living out the vision for our lives and not getting stuck in lives of mere survival and passivity. As I spoke about my own hesitation and […]
A quote I will never forget
Throughout my life, there have been certain statements that have opened doors into my mind and heart, letting air and light into them, shifting my whole sense of being. Here is one of the most important of them: “What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence, nor the manifest presence of divinity, […]