I Saved This Part For You

Last summer, my oldest son and I were going through a set of challenges and experiences that we called, “Chandler’s Induction Into Manhood.” He had turned thirteen just before school ended, and I wanted to commission him for the years of maturing that were ahead.
One of the challenges involved three days at an undeveloped [...]

Man-na?

The Israelites had been miraculously freed from their captivity in Egypt, but their food ran out in the desert, and they were feeling a little grumpy. “If we were still in Egypt, we would have food to eat! Did you bring us out here to die?” they demanded from Moses. Moses, in [...]

It’s Not Gone Till God Says It’s Gone

Just finished an international dinner party with people from the U.S., Thailand and Mongolia. We were celebrating the success of a leg operation for a young boy named Zoloo.
A month ago, Zoloo’s mom had been told by his Mongolian doctors that he had cancer in the upper bone of one of his legs. [...]

The Canary’s Complaint

Coal miners used to take canaries in cages down into the tunnels with them.  The canary has a highly sensitive respiratory system.  If poisonous methane or carbon monoxide gas started to seep into the tunnels, the birds would stop singing, sway noticeably and die, giving the miners an early warning system before the gas overcame [...]

King Rat

James Clavell’s gritty first novel (King Rat) was about the fight for survival in the Chiangi Prison Camp in Singapore during World War  II.  He had spent half the war there himself and had learned much about how inhumanely humans can act toward one another when they are forced to compete for scarce resources to [...]

I Hate Perfect People

Okay, that’s a little harsh, I know. I don’t actually hate them, but that’s mostly because they don’t exist. By my count, there have been only three to ever walk the face of the earth, and the first two caved under the pressure. What I actually hate is people pretending to be [...]

Dime Store Pearls

Maybe you’ve seen the e-mail that’s made several trips around the world and at least three to my email box. Or maybe you’ve heard the song.  They are about a young girl who saw a string of gleaming white pearls at the dime store and fell in love with them. Working hard over the following [...]

100/0

Several years ago, I used to meet with a group of Christian men each Tuesday for breakfast. I remember one breakfast in particular on an occasion when I was angry with my wife. I had come to the group that morning with a burning need to get my frustrations off my chest, so I [...]

The Covering

My eight-year-old is a theological scholar – to me, at least. We were out on the town for a “Boys’ Night Out” last night and dipping deep into the spiritual well of the story of Adam and Eve. I was asking him some questions to make sure he had really read the passage [...]

Ice (Water) Breaker

Happy New Year!
It’s Songkran in Thailand this week!
We took the family down to the moat around the old city in Chiang Mai to see the festival today. It’s got to be the world’s largest water fight! People roam the streets around the moat in their songtaews, pickup trucks and tuk-tuks, with [...]