One Tough Mother

A tribute to my mom

“It’s not a shame to have roaches — it’s a shame to feed ’em!” -my mom In honor of Mothers Day, I want to share a few thoughts about my mom. We live two states apart so I don’t see her as often as either of us would like, but we are still quite close. […]

Wired for Worship

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant […]

MILF — Men, I’d Like for us to Focus

“Stacy’s mom has got it goin’ on…” -Fountains of Wayne There seems to be a fascination with older women as sex objects.  The terms Cougar or MILF may be fairly recent, but the appeal of an experienced older woman is not new.  Even before Stifler’s mom, or Stacy’s mom, the movies “The Graduate” and “Summer of […]

Four Lessons from King Lune of Archenland

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) From the time my first son was born I have been a fan of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles […]

Fifty Shades of Grey – 180 Degrees Off

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” – Psalm 119:37 (ESV) I’ll say it: Fifty Shades of Grey is pornography.  The fact that you can buy FSOG books at airports and grocery stores doesn’t change its essence.  The popularity of the book series and likely success of the […]

Isolation vs. Solitude

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” … Proverbs 18:1 Let’s start with this premise: time alone is a mixed blessing.  On one hand, having a set time and place to be alone with one’s thoughts can be wonderfully restorative.  Conversely, too much time alone can lead to self-absorption and […]

The Role of Hardship in Shaping Character

“Endure hardship as discipline…”   – Hebrews 12:7 I never liked the word discipline. It always made me think of punishment — and I didn’t care for punishment.  Losing privileges, being sent to my room, having my allowance docked — I never liked any of it.  The worst, however, was corporal punishment — the dreaded […]

The Unsung Hero of Christmas

Merry Christmas! While we celebrate the incarnation of Christ Jesus, I want to ask you to consider the example of a man who was indispensable to the Christmas story — Joseph the carpenter. When we first meet Joseph in the Bible, he is defined in terms of his relationships — as the son of his […]

On Traditions

“Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could” — Richard Rogers (“Something Good”) As Christmas approaches, I’ve been thinking about the importance of traditions.  Having a set of practices tied to the Christmas season has generated lots of benefits for me and my household.  I credit our traditions with the following: Making memories and sharing experiences that strengthen […]

Stay Hungry

“A worker’s appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on” — Proverbs 16:26 (ESV) If you follow current events, you know the economic news is mixed.  On one hand, the price of crude oil  has dropped to its lowest in a decade or more, making a gallon of gas much more affordable.  On the other […]