I was fully awake, the frigid air having greeted me at my back door. Gazing skyward, I saw them: wild geese. I’m accustomed to local geese flying from the pond just beyond the field behind our house to another pond on the other side of the highway. From where I stand, both ponds are beyond …
This Thanksgiving, I will pause before carving that turkey and give thanks for the bad things that didn’t happen. I try to thank God for those adverse events that could have happened but didn’t. One morning, I greeted my wife, waving my arms as if we’d just won the lottery, “Guess what, Lori, you won’t …
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 …