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Before I began teaching full-time, I substituted for seven years in a K-12 school. My days with kindergarten children found me counting objects, naming colors, giving sounds to letters, tying shoes, and wiping noses. I soon learned that staying aware of middle-schoolers’ raging hormones was essential. And a week with twelfth graders required extra study…

Recently, I came across an unfamiliar theological term. Naturally, the schoolteacher in me did what I used to tell my students to do when they encountered a new word – I looked it up! I had heard the words ‘orthodoxy’ and ‘orthopraxy’. (Don’t let those words stop you from reading further. This is going to…

If you’ve ever built or remodeled a house, chances are you’ve had pieces of PVC pipe lying around. When these pipes are new, they are pristine, clean, and white. That’s good since drinking water usually flows through them. However, over time, these pipes can develop residue that sticks and restricts water flow. This buildup can…

Arguably, most of us are addicted to something. Some are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Others to pleasure, power, possessions, or a combination of other things. As for me, I am addicted to a judgmental spirit. There! I said it out loud (sort of)! I spent most of my years focused on being an outward…

Knowing that God is working THROUGH us to accomplish something of eternal value warms our hearts with joy; however, God working IN us is another matter. More often than not, exchanging our fleshly desires for godly ones is not a quick yank. It’s more like slowly peeling a Band-Aid off a hairy arm. The hairier…

You’ve laced up your boots, strapped on your backpack, and headed down a well-worn and familiar path. Before seeing them, you can picture every tall tree, mossy boulder, and narrow stream. You smile when you see your own boot prints etched in the dirt along the way. You know the trail by heart because you’ve…

As I watched my oldest grandson graduate from high school, a tsunami of memories washed over me. There were 699 in my graduating class. On graduation night, names were called, and faces came forward that I didn’t recognize. Unlike my grandson, I didn’t graduate with a whole lot of honors, but I was good friends…

Our fearless foursome had been transported over land, sea, and air from one Greek map dot to another. It had been a glorious week of capturing picturesque scenery, savoring Mediterranean cuisine, and soaking up Greek culture. However, our vacation was over, and it was time to return home. As we stood in the TSA line,…

Not long ago, our oldest grandson asked Ron and me if we had to read Macbeth in school. We said we had, and I asked him if he’d read Romeo and Juliet. Before he could answer, I blew layers of dust off the centuries-old “what-light-through-yonder-window-breaks” quote I’d memorized 50 years ago. After delivering it with all the dramatic flair…

When our oldest grandchildren were small, we bought a little wooden cart and a pony named Sally. Ron would gather the bridle and harness, hook Sally to the cart, nestle the little ones next to him, and off they would trot down the road. Clip clop. Clip clop. Squeals of delight quickly interrupted the tunes…