How large does a rudder need to be to steer a ship? Perched on the upper deck of the Volunteer, I sensed the hull of our 29,000-pound boat gliding noiselessly through the shaded waters. The complete ease of our ride belied the sweat equity invested by thousands of workers over 12 years. Consider—at a pay rate of $1 per day, they dug the 97 miles of the Illinois & Michigan Canal entirely by hand. After the canal’s completion in 1848, ships transporting fruits and vegetables and other goods were all hauled by mules. Calling us back to those simpler days,…
Caleb the Most
Kids and Supper. You never know what’s on the menu—and I’m not talking about food. I speak of the delectable dialogue that often spills on to the table (along with the occasional glass of milk). The other night over dinner, our daughter and son-in-law engaged the family in a conversation about the gospel. Eleven-year-old Josie was there. So were Caleb, age seven, and Lucy, who is five. It wasn’t long before someone quoted Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and….” Boom! At that precise moment in the verse recitation—before they could go any further than that first phrase—Lucy interjected, “But…
A Cup of Compassion
Flames of fury. Choking smoke. Paris in shock. Last April, we gawked at our phones, tablets, and TVs as the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral smoldered. The sight prompted me to grab a book that had long sat on my shelf unread: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel unfolds the epic tale of a beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda. Pursued by the evil archdeacon Claude Frollo, she is protected by Quasimodo, Notre Dame's disfigured bell ringer. His one eye, bulging forehead, and trademark hump make for a grotesque character that evinces shock and shun from nearly all. Quasimodo "has a…
The Great Train Rescue
It was an uneventful train rain ride on an uneventful afternoon. Until it wasn’t. Stepping off on to the station platform in my home town, I heard a voice yelling. Actually, it would be more accurate to say he was screaming: "No! No! No!" As he shouted, the train conductor's arms were flailing—but only for a moment. That’s when he dove off the train. Having managed to dodge him, I had to know why he was rushing with the power of an NFL receiver. Then I spied a little boy one car back exiting the train with his dad. Somehow,…
A Good Goodbye
When you're two, being with Grandma and Grandpa is cool. When you're ten—not so much. Tim was at that awkward stage but never failed to hug his grandparents every visit. Wishing to reinforce good behavior, I once told him, "You know, I love the way you give such great hugs to Grandma and Grandpa. That's very nice of you! And I know they love, it too." Timmy's reply: "Well, they won't be around forever. Someday they're going to die" (umm…a bit blunt, I thought). But what he said next, I have never forgotten: "That's why I always give a good…
Amigo
Before traveling to Vicente Guerrero in Mexico, I had never even heard of, let alone met, a Oaxacan. They are among the poorest of the poor. Partly because of their “lowly” heritage and partly because they are indigenous, they are looked down upon by many, so they typically get the crummiest of the crummy jobs. If it’s dangerous or back-breaking or low paying, a Oaxacan is usually doing the task. My daughter and I were there to learn about them and minister to them, under the care of a beautiful Mexican ministry. Our host, David, told me that their team…
Do You Wonder?
“We all wonder.” The bold white letters against the black background make a big statement. Maybe you’ve seen the billboards or web banners for the Explore God website. The ministry addresses the fundamental questions most of us have about God, the Bible, and the Christian life. The other day, while boarding the train heading home from Chicago, I bumped into one of those very ads as I hiked up the steps into the passenger car. Except, just underneath the message, “We all wonder,” someone had scratched in the rebuttal, “No we don’t.” And there it was—the argument of the ages. …
To the Michigans
It's a big week for four-year-old Lucy. At her church’s Vacation Bible School, she was challenged to receive Christ as her Savior—and she did! One might not expect to see much dramatic life transformation in a four-year-old (not exactly a "life of sin" from which to turn away). But one would be wrong. Lucy is suddenly a fearless (if not fiery) preacher. Her mother calls her an evangelist. She regularly gets into the face of her two-year-old sister and proclaims, “Sadie, you need to make a decision!” But Lucy’s gospel witness is more than lip service. At the VBS, students…
Dangling from a Rope
A splash in the eye is what got my attention. Huffing in the heat of the late morning, I gingerly hopped over several lines of train track coming out of Chicago’s Union train station. Having cleared the last of the rails, something wet plopped on my head. The only place it could have come from was the high-rise off to my right, known as “The Residences at Riverbend.” Currently, you can buy a one-bedroom condo for 404,900. Need a little more elbow room? A two-bedroom unit will set you back between $539,000 and $825,000. But if you really want to…
Beware the Gnats
Out at the camper, we inherited somebody else's deck. With the help of a lot of friends—and a John Deere tractor—we managed to move two 8×8 foot wooden sections to our site. The repurposed deck then got a thorough power-washing. The next step was…a step. Actually, we needed to build three sets of steps. Like most "morning" projects, the construction of those steps turned out to be an all-day affair. So I measured, sawed, and fastened, all the while vaguely aware of a cloud of gnats swirling and swarming. After taking a much-needed shower and changing into some comfortable clothes,…