A Word About,… Truth I was talking to a friend the other day in a casual conversation, when he used an idiom that I’ve been pondering since our time together. He said he’d been invited to a party. “Truth be told,” he said, “I hated every minute of it, but I managed to look…
A Word About, … Encouragement As I sat alone eating in my favorite Thai cafe the other day, I noticed a couple having lunch, conversing, smiling, laughing. They looked married, and I supposed they were. Their interactions were animated, almost playful I think. And their lunch together seemed to make my lunch alone…
A Word About … Biographies I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t like a good story. There’s just something about the twists and turns and unexpected happenings in a great story that captures our imagination. And one of my favorite kinds of stories is an autobiography. When we read or hear the…
A Word About, …Overwhelmed I was feeling overwhelmed the other day with so many tasks and demands, and things in my life. As I sat in my pity party, thinking about that ‘feeling’ of being overwhelmed, I decided to check out the meaning of that word. Was I feeling ‘overwhelmed?’ or was it…
A Word About , …Alone Quick now: Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Many people think the way you measure such a thing is by how ‘talkative’ you are, or how shy you are. But researchers say that’s not the determining factor in introversion or extroversion. Instead, it’s what re-charges your battery emotionally. …
A Word About Learning I’ve been married to a teacher for a long time. My wife doesn’t spend her days in a classroom now, like she did when we were first married. But she started out teaching kindergarten and in our early years of marriage, I used to love to hear her stories of…
A Word About Niggling My wife loves to decorate our home with clocks and watches of all sorts and descriptions. In fact, one entire wall of our home is nearly covered with clocks of various sizes and shapes. We have one mantle clock that doesn’t seem to know what time it is when…
A Word About Noticing A few years ago, Michael Ashcraft wrote a very engaging book, titled “My One Word.” In that book, Ashcraft challenged readers to choose one word that represented what they might most hope God would change in them — and focus on it for an entire year. After that book came…
A Word About …Intersections Several years ago, my wife and I were privileged to enjoy a sabbatical together. The congregation we served gave us two months away from our normal responsibilities. After much deliberation and planning, we spent the first three weeks of our sabbatical in the Canadian Rockies. Just the two of us….
A Word About Amazed I often wonder what it must have been like for those early followers of Jesus to sit and listen to him teach. What did his voice sound like? I can’t imagine Jesus sounding like a taxi driver from New York City, or a cowboy from the Texas plains. We don’t…