I saw something unusual the other day at the King's Camp as I played with Ava (7) and Emma (5). The front wall of “Shelter B," where outdoor church services are held, features a wooden cross. Nothing unusual about that, right? But firmly attached to one side of that cross, we discovered a bird's nest. Round and reedy, the thing perched perfectly on the crossbeam. Naturally, Ava and Emma urged me to find out if there were any eggs (or babies) inside that nest. But a respectful search revealed nobody was home at the time. At first, the presence of…
Distracted by Jesus
Imagine a fragrance with the hypnotic power of ocean waves or the delicate dance of a candle flame. That's the perfume Diana spritzes every morning. The scent floats through our home and totally distracts me from whatever I'm doing. I immediately track Diana down for a kiss! It's one thing to be distracted by your spouse, but it's another to be distracted by Jesus. How often does that happen to you? What I mean is, as you’re reading the Word—or praying to the Living Word—does He turn your head? Does Jesus occupy your thoughts? Are you fascinated with Him? In…
Just Beneath the Surface
To inhale the intoxicating fragrance of lush green grass —suburbia at its finest. That’s all we wanted. But should growing new grass be all that difficult? I couldn't wait to see the results as I sprinkled the "guaranteed-to-grow" seed on that long patch of soil. But there were none. Not in three days. Not in a week. Not in ten days. Not a single sprout of green. I was frustrated. I'm no green thumb, but I'd never experienced this colossal failure when planting grass. With a last gasp of hope, I grabbed the hose and watered it one more time….
Do You Memorize Scripture?
Do you memorize Scripture? Lots of folks don't. And the ones that don't are convinced the ones that do have an easier time with it. When I ask this question about Bible memorization, the most typical responses I get are: “I’ve tried, but just can’t seem to memorize.” “My brain doesn’t work so well anymore.” “Those verses just don’t seem to stick.” However, I have good news! You CAN memorize Scripture—even if (like me) it takes you longer. Much longer! I can relate to those who say, "My brain just doesn't seem to work so well anymore." However, most of…
Plan for the Future
The invitation said, “You and a guest are invited to an informative seminar that will change how you view and plan for the future!” If that subject line turns you toward retirement savings, annuities, and IRAs, think again. This scintillating seminar is offered at a local funeral home as a complimentary lunch event. You'll forgive the morbid punster in me who came up with a few alternative titles to their lunch-and-learn offer: Burn and Urn Caskets and Ask-its The Grape-ful Dead (assuming fruit is on the lunch menu). Bad puns aside, these helpful folks want me to “understand my options”…
What Refuge?
In a stairwell not far from my office is a sign in red letters: Area of Refuge. This is where you’re supposed to go for safety when things turn dangerous. That image came to mind the other day when I read Psalm 2. Verse 12 says of God, “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” The thing that struck me is the reality that when faced with a storm—financial, personal, marital—any storm, we have a choice in what we designate as our refuge. I'd not given it much thought, but every storm brings a choice: Where ya gonna go…
Elophint in the Room
Sunday morning. My wife and I have guests sitting with us at church: four-year-old Emma and seven-year-old Ava. Both are busy drawing. With a few magical strokes of her pencil, Ava transforms a blue prayer card into a canvas featuring a decidedly happy elephant. On the reverse side of the card, Ava prints her name and identifies the subject of her sketch: “Elofint.” How can you not smile? Young children are notorious for spelling words phonetically or looking at life literally. They also take extraordinary Bible promises at face value, without the slightest doubt. Probing questions here and there—yes—but cynicism…
What Hapened at the Kibbutz
As we step into the blackness of the torched home, my feet crunch over tiny bits of brokenness: broken furniture, broken roof tiles, broken glass. Wires and duct work dangle from the ceiling, while the melted blades of a ceiling fan droop like a sad version of Bugs Bunny. We are in Kibbutz Be'eri, one of twenty or so little communities attacked by the 3,000 Hamas terrorists who besieged Israel on October 7. Omri Kedem was here when the gunmen stormed in that Saturday morning. Hustling into their safe room, the family heard repeated shouts and banging on the door….
Naama’s Story
We are seated in comfortable chairs in a comfortable conference room. But I have rarely been less comfortable. Seated next to me at Jerusalem's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is Dr. Ayelet Levi-Shachar, a woman we have come to interview. She is the mother of a vivacious 19-year-old daughter (a triathlete, no less) named Naama. On October 6, Naama traveled from home to a Kibbutz in southern Israel, where she spent the night. Early Saturday morning that kibbutz was attacked by Hamas. She was hit in the leg with shrapnel. When Naama resisted capture, she was dragged by her hair, thrown…
Electrician Not For Hire
She flipped the switch—but the lights didn’t come on. The day we left for Florida, half of our kitchen lights decided to go on strike. My wife tried exercising the light switches and I checked the breaker box. No evidence of anything gone wrong. I scanned the web for possible causes and fixes. Though I’m no electrician, I knew I could at least buy identical switches and replace the old ones, should they have worn out. This, I did. Alas, we were still in the dark (in more ways than one). That’s when a friend at church…