You might be wondering why I’m writing about Valentine’s Day right after Valentine’s Day. Usually all things Valentine are mentioned prior to or on February 14, right? But this isn’t a mistake or an oversight; I’m actually right on time. It’s just a slightly different way to look at our…
The following is a fictional story written by Mike Anderson. Long before the sun rose, Simeon was awake. He shifted on his mat in an endless quest for a position where some part of him did not ache. He knew it was hopeless, at his age, but the alternative was…
Have you ever noticed there aren’t any old photos of Abraham Lincoln with a big grin on his face? Look at some of the things he lived through: his wife suffered from mental illness and her symptoms worsened as time went by. He lost more elections than he won. One…
Paintball! A number of years back this sport was very popular. Paintball was, for the most part, a bunch of adults playing war. You had a gun that fired plastic pellets filled with paint. When they hit your opponent they burst and left a telltale splash of bright color, so…
The following is a fictional story written by Mike Anderson. I wasn’t there when Jesus was born; he was my older brother—I came along almost two years later. Growing up, I heard the story of his birth over and over again—and then was told not to tell anyone. When I…
One person sneezes and another says, “God bless you.” Someone is diagnosed with a serious illness and we quietly pray, “God, please bless them.” An Olympic athlete from the USA wins gold and during the national anthem we proudly think, “God bless America.” We seem to naturally link God and…
The Christmas season! For many, it’s “the most wonderful time of the year,” filled with “tiny tots, with their eyes all aglow!” When snow starts to fall, lighted decorations go up, and chestnuts start roasting on open fires, everybody agrees that “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!”…
A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with cancer and was told he probably has one to two years of life left. Pretty serious news to digest, to say the least. But you wouldn’t know it to talk with him, or pray with him. His whole emphasis in life since…
Recently my wife and I were on a five hour red eye flight. It was the end of a ten day vacation and we were pretty tired. My wife had the window seat and I was squeezed into the middle, next to a woman who commandeered the armrest and planted…
Jesus. When you say the name, different things come to mind for different people. Jesus also used a lot of different terms to describe himself, but one of the most well known descriptions he gave is from this verse in the Gospel of John: “I am the way, the truth,…
