My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

Marriage puts our character on the anvil of time. Our impurities are revealed then burned up and beaten out until we are sharp and strong. Only then do we understand the hard and humbling aspects of marriage are forging something infinitely greater than two separate people.

Why We Lie

Why We Lie

Lying to others is deplorable. It erodes trust, the glue in any relationship. You don’t have to look to the political arena to see it either. Look at your workplace, in your home, and even in your own heart. But lying to ourselves (and to God) is worse than lying to...
Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

It is human nature to flinch and flee from physical and emotional pain. And the torment from abandonment, rejection, verbal abuse, and shame can linger long after physical trauma has healed. But because those wounds are on the inside where no one can see them and...
The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

I could spit on every romance novel I read as a teenager. They deluded me into thinking that marriage was one, long romantic adventure. What a crock. I’m not down on marriage. I endured four difficult years of separation because I believe so profoundly in marriage....
3 Signs of a Tender Conscience

3 Signs of a Tender Conscience

Last week, my husband got into a bit of a funk. As we lay in bed after another exhausting day of parenting, work, household chores, and church activities, he opened up about feeling like he wasn’t doing his best to help our special needs son, to support our family, and in serving others in the community. We can all feel like we are not living up to God’s expectations. We question our…

Who Crossed the Line?

Who Crossed the Line?

Let me introduce you to… The Farmer In “The Chasm Crosser”, the farmer is a simple, straight-forward man uncomfortable with taking sides in a controversy. But when he meets the Bridge Builder, he realizes that inaction is a choice as well. Will he...
Tattoos and Taming the Tongue

Tattoos and Taming the Tongue

I believe that most kids should be institutionalized from ages 11-14 since they so readily display Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities). Either that or they’re victims of an alien body snatching conspiracy to bring down our entire civilization one...
In the Company of a “Bastard” Like Jesus

In the Company of a “Bastard” Like Jesus

Last year, the teacher across the hall from me at school was nominated Teacher of the Year by her peers. It was my first year back in the teaching field after 12 years, and I didn’t know my peers well enough to vote with any kind of conviction, so I...
Asking the Wrong Question about Creation

Asking the Wrong Question about Creation

Here’s a Jeopardy answer for you:  Six days or six billion years.  Question:  How long did it take God to create the Earth?  We’re not going to bother entertaining the absurd argument that matter suddenly popped into existence without intention and intelligence. But...