Kindness Isn’t Complicated: The Coat Library
[I saw this story on social media, but I wrote the prayer. I have no idea whether or not the story is true, but I know that cold people need coats. In a world where problems can seem insurmountable, helping a cold someone find a warm coat or gloves isContinue Reading
Checkmate
[This article comes from a blog post by Charles Morris at haventoday.org/blog/closer-look-checkmate/. I wrote the prayer.] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:9 NIV) If you know anything about the game of chess, you know it all comes downContinue Reading
Voicelessness
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17 NIV) Have you ever lost your voice? Sometimes when we catch a bug—or when we yell, shout, or sing too much—we temporarily lose the ability to speak or sing. A dear friendContinue Reading
Christmas spirit
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2 NIV) As I write this it is the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday we had 17 people around the table for dinner – mostly out-of-state family who came in for the holiday. Today we are in recovery. We don’tContinue Reading
Hope and a stump
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. (Isaiah 11:1 NLT) Delayed hope makes one sick at heart, but a fulfilled longing is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 GW) A tree stump is a representation ofContinue Reading
60 years of farming
His master replied, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matthew 25:21 NLT) As I write this I am reflecting on more than six decades of farming.Continue Reading
Thanksgiving 2026
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. (Psalm 104:14-15 NIV) Come, ye thankful people, come,Raise the song of harvest home;All is safelyContinue Reading
Thanks in November
Greatness, power, splendor, glory, and majesty are yours, Lord, because everything in heaven and on earth is yours. The kingdom is yours, Lord, and you are honored as head of all things. (1 Chronicles 29:11 GW) Today I invite you to make a list of things you are thankful for. The followingContinue Reading
Wait for the Unexpected
I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;before they spring into being I announce them to you. (Isaiah 42:8-9 NIV) Last Wednesday night before the service, our church had a (competitive) chili cook-off inContinue Reading
“An entire faith that is being erased, one bullet at a time, one torched Bible at a time”
Bring to an end the violence the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. (Psalm 7:9 NIV) When I was in grad school, I met a man originally from Nigeria. His first doctorate was in military science, but while he was inContinue Reading