Category: Pain
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Mastering the Mess
A recent Google Doodle reminded me that my childhood is even further away than I thought. The doodle commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, which was brand-spankin’ new when I was, um, in grade school. The puzzle entertained my classmates and me for many recess hours. I considered it a monumental achievement to…
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I Am Not Ashamed…or am I?
Over the weekend, a friend posted a video from graduation ceremonies half a continent away from the Edge of Nowhere, and I was able to hear one of my former students sing “I Am Not Ashamed (of the Gospel).” By herself, she was every bit as good as the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I got chills…
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W.a.i.t.i.n.g.
One summer I took a road trip by myself to Green Bay to see the sites of Packerland, USA. With my map in my lap, I left home and headed north on a highway that was nearly hidden in a deep fog. Road signs were covered with low clouds and were impossible to read. At…
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Black Saturday
The first pre-Easter Saturday was a black day. For the dear ladies who followed Jesus, the horror of Friday had been even worse than their worst nightmares. Jesus was dead; they’d watched the crucifixion with their own eyes. He was buried; they’d watched Nicodemus and Joseph place His lifeless body in the tomb. The One…
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Hold On & Keep Moving
This blog is supposed to be about Daniel (at least, until we finish the book), and it is most of the time. But sometimes life gets in the way of “most of the time.” On this Friday night in Next-To-Nowhere, USA, I’m feeling trapped for a number of reasons I won’t bore you with. And…
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A Season Not To Remember
This week I lost track of the hot air blowing around the Capitol and the wintery winds blowing across the nation. Headlines from home whipped me back to another life in which I taught fifth grade. During those six years, I shepherded 153 ten-year-olds through what I considered the peak of childhood: they were old…
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Good, Bitter, Best
I’m headed out of town for some conferences, so Daniel is on leave until I return. Meanwhile, I’m recycling a piece I wrote more than ten years ago when I was at Marah. I’ve revisited Marah over the years, but I’ve been to Elim, too. These days, I’m somewhere in between. 🙂 Maybe you’re at…
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Change = Life
I have a favorite children’s book entitled Tuck Everlasting. It weaves an interesting tale of “what if?” What if there really was a Fountain of Youth? What if we could pick a perfect age and stop aging forever at that point? After the first couple of chapters, it sounds pretty appealing and the ten-year-old students…
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“Grinch” as a Verb
It was Christmas 1997, and my church singles group was out spreading holiday cheer. On this particular Saturday, we were taking Christmas to a needy family whose name we had received from the local Rescue Mission. We had spent weeks gathering Christmas decorations and purchasing gifts for the entire family. We bought a tree and…
Three Rubies Press 