Tag: Christianity

  • Find joy where life is

    In the few months before I went on the mission trip to Mexico last fall I started a new job, my divorce became final, and I left a one-room apartment and rented a five-bedroom house. I grieved my marriage (and tried to be a good dad to my sons as they grieved the changes in…

  • God grenades

    Last night I drove home after nine from a late dinner with some folks. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, still a novelty here, it was still light out, and it was warm. I rolled down my windows and cut through Broad Ripple, an old Indianapolis neighborhood known for its shops, restaurants, and nightclubs. I cruised…

  • Holding up my hand

    On my first day of Kindergarten, my mother walked with me the half mile to school so I’d know the way. I was a little anxious about meeting so many new children, but only a little anxious because I felt tremendously reassured that Mom was taking me there. When the time came I reached my…

  • Merciful invitation

    It’s easy to get a bad impression of God as you leaf through the Old Testament. God said that the natural consequence of sin — of falling short of what God wants from us — is death, just like overeating’s natural consequence is getting fat and not paying the rent’s natural consequence is eviction. It’s…

  • Not-so-instant gratification

    Life deals serious difficulties to everyone, I think. Losing a child, chronic illness or pain, injustice, infidelity, loneliness, addiction, and divorce – expect slow and painful recovery from such things. I’ve had plenty of serious difficulties in the past several years. I’m recovering, but the path has been crooked – after a few good days,…