I sat on the bed while my Great-Grandma braided her waist-length, snowy white hair and piled it like a crown on her head. She turned to me, twinkling: “Now what does today have in store for us?” Later, as we talked, she turned and patted my knee. “It’s so nice to be with someone my own […]

Talk about final. There was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. (I Kings 18:29, ESV.) The prophets of Baal had been at it all morning and most of the afternoon, hopping around the altar, calling on their god, slashing and cutting themselves into a frenzy. They begged their god of lightning to […]

A line of thunderstorms crashed through our area two nights ago. Eighty-mile-an-hour winds ripped trees out of the ground, took down power lines and severely damaged several nearby homes. As I picked my way through the debris that covered our driveway, I kept thinking, “Lord — this could be broken glass and twisted metal, bits […]

It gets me every time I read it: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that [Lazarus] was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.” What?! Jesus loved them, so he stayed away. He waited, in fact, until Lazarus was well and truly dead. […]

I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty for Jesus. I’m hungry for the Eucharist. I want him. Physically, tangibly. Less than 10 days into coronavirus-prompted deprivation, I have a longing I’ve never experienced before. It’s a longing I never thought I’d have, given 30 years of experiencing his presence spiritually as a Protestant, ignorant […]

Like many people, I spent the last few days trying to assimilate the rapidly-evolving directives regarding Covid19. One day it seemed enough to simply practice good hygiene and stock the larder, so I got on a plane to my next speaking engagement. Within hours of my arrival the picture had changed. Schools were shutting down, […]