Let Freedom Ring

Tonight we will be heading downtown for fireworks. That's what you get when your kids are in their adventuresome 20s. Scorning inconvenience, they want to go out and do stuff. Freedom gives us this right. As citizens, we can peaceably assemble in public places. Although this is Portland, so weirdness will be present too. I'll keep …

Thankful is a way of life

On a field trip recently, since I simply rode in the bus, I took in the autumn sights: the rolling hills with red and golden trees, the clear blue of the sky, the scattered clouds. What if, I thought. What if I had not lived to see this season? I have every reason to be …

Treasure the second chance

Of all the attributes of love, mercy and forgiveness are perhaps the most cherished. I marvel at the many times God has shown mercy to me, and I remind myself that He asks me to extend that same forgiveness to others. But do we treasure those second chances? Or do we presume that there will …

A year with My 500 Words

I didn't see the invitation until January 3rd. Facing a book deadline, author Jeff Goins asked his blog subscribers for help. Would we write 500 words a day with him for the month of January? Would I? My blog was languishing, and the novel was stuck at Chapter 7. Defeated? Oh, I was feeling it. …

To God with love this Christmas Day…

Hauntingly beautiful, ever true. A much-loved carol from the 12th century. In Bethlehem upon that morn There was a blessed Messiah born. Merry Christmas!

In each of us, a hero

When do we see the nobility of men and women? In the most tragic circumstances of life. It is then that we step up and show that we are, indeed, created in the image of God. To honor the heroes of 9/11, today I am sharing this video with my students. I was raised in …

Memorial Day is not just for grandpas

When I was my students' ages, Memorial Day was all about the three-day weekend. Military service? Wasn't that old guys, like my grandpa? Visiting cemeteries with flag pins on their lapels and saluting and stuff? (Yes, I was that self-absorbed and stupid.) For the military is not about old geezers at all. Those serving are …