The wisdom of Forrest Gump
“Hello, my name is Forrest, Forrest Gump.” “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” “Run, Forrest! Run!” “Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots.” Even though the movie Forrest Gump is 20 years old, it is still an iconic part of American culture. We […]
The Power of Face-to-Face
I feel it when Heidi speaks to me with words of endearment. I sense it when I see the sparkle in my daughter’s eyes. I notice it when a friend walks with me, and we enjoy each other’s company. I am aware of it in my small groups as men gather to share their stories. […]
“What is God’s lesson plan for you today?”
The question came from my mentor, our former high school principle, and it became the basis for many of our conversations together. It’s a startling question for several reasons. First, as a high school Bible teacher, I am inundated with this idea: daily lesson plans and weekly lesson plans, curricular topics for the semester, curricular […]
When you least expect it…
Yes, when you least expect it, that’s when God sometimes does His best work. Our resistance isn’t up because of the surprise factor. So here’s what happened to me when I least expected it. For a long time, God has been helping me uncover so much of my heart that lay buried under years of […]
Conquering Fear of Failure…a postscript
I had intended to move on to another common fear in this blog, but something happened last week that demanded changing that plan. That something was the very event that triggered the fear of failure I described in the last blog, the event for all of my former high school students, Let Me Teach You […]
Conquering Fear, Part 1: Fear of Failure
It happened again. That tightening in my stomach with the racing thoughts in my mind. A number of months ago, at the suggestion and encouragement of many friends, I decided to hold an event for all of my former high school students, some 17 years worth. The title: Let Me Teach You One More Time. […]
What happens when secrets are shared
I was walking with a close friend last fall, and the conversation steered from present struggles into the past. He began to recount a difficult event from his early childhood, and the next thing I knew he was choking back tears. I was at first surprised by his honesty and then honored that he would […]
The Joy Of Death: A Final Look
This weekend I spoke the benediction at the funeral of a dear friend. Two days later I ate lunch with another friend who recently lost his spouse to cancer. Both experiences still taste of death, the stripping finality, the grinding loss, the unappeasable loneliness. How could anyone associate death with joy? Isn’t this something approaching […]
The joy of death
I watched my mother die of terminal cancer a number of years ago. It was ugly and heart-wrenching. I know of others right now who are facing death’s door, and it’s grievous to consider. How could anything good come out of death, much less joy? When I was in college, I read a book called The […]
Parenting out of fear…or hope?
The question loomed up again this weekend. This time it happened at my daughter’s graduation from Lee University. Rachel’s experience at Lee has just been stellar. She has loved her professors and made deep connections with her peers. Both ceremonies (one a commissioning and the other a graduation) were very emotional moments for Heidi and […]