My wife and I passed by the casket, having shaken hands with my deceased friend’s surviving siblings and mother. Then came the hardest part, the real reason we had come: we embraced his wife. “You came!” she exclaimed, encircling us in her arms. Mandy was tired but strong and steady. Most of all, she was …
I stepped outside. The news was too disturbing: Israel responding to Hamas’ atrocities; Iran and others threatening to widen the war; incidents of antisemitism and islamophobia reported around the world. But outside, it was quiet. The orange glow of the sun signaled its wake-up call to nature. Two birds were having a vibrant conversation just …
Words, spoken at the right moment, can change a life, for good or bad. Even when we don’t acknowledge or are aware of their impact, the effect of our words can be profound. Maybe it’s because I was a pastor for 37 years that I tend to see underlying messages in seemingly common things. Like …
“Give me some hope,” my friend pleaded with me. We had been discussing the turmoil in the Middle East. I paused before answering, wanting to avoid quoting Scripture torn out of context like I was cracking open a fortune cookie. “God is still in control,” I said, the words rolling out before I could mentally …
The atrocities are painful to watch. Hamas has inflicted unimaginable agony and suffering on Jewish civilians. Like millions of other viewers, at first, we couldn’t wrap our minds around how people could murder the innocent, including children, mothers, and even babies, kidnapping others (yes, a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair!) with threats of filming how …