12 Gifts of ChristX – Confident hope

Remember the frenzy on the Ellen show this time of year? Tickets for her 12 Days of Giveaways were like winning the lottery. You snag one of those and not only do you… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – Knowledge of God

I recently watched Carrie Underwood’s performance of “How Great Thou Art” from the “ACM Girls Night Out: Superstar Women of Country” concert, which aired on April 22, 2011. Accompanied by Vince Gill, this… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – Forgiveness

You’ve heard the stories. A young person is murdered and, incredibly, the parents declare that they forgive their child’s killer. In some cases, like this one here, they even go out of their… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – The Holy Spirit

I am still in awe of the fact that by simply tapping a small, wireless, handheld device we can talk to someone hundreds, or even thousands of miles away, reaching them in seconds.… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – Freedom

Many who have not experienced it will balk at the idea that in Christ we have freedom. Like the Jews challenged by Jesus they would say, “We…have never been enslaved to anyone. How… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – Peace

If I were to ask you to say the first thing that comes to mind when I say “peace,” it’s unlikely you would respond with “Jerusalem.” Unless it was Opposite Day. The Middle… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX – Belonging

Curse you, Madison Avenue. Your perfect little family Christmas….you know, with all the smiles and hugs, the busy kitchen and cozy fireplace, the beautiful and bountiful presents under the tree and sons and… Continue reading

12 Gifts of ChristX

  On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,A partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas…blah, blah, blah A partridge in a pear tree? Seriously?… Continue reading

The Big Guy

It’s time to haul out and dust off my poignant, heart-warming, Hallmark Channel-worthy Christmas commentary. The one about how I hate Santa. Grab a tissue. I expect I’m about to be called a… Continue reading

Turn that frown upside-down

Thanksgiving is almost here, and friends on Facebook have been posting what they’re thankful for every day this month. I’m a pretty grateful type so I considered doing that. But then I thought… Continue reading

That’s why we get monthly bills

I can’t remember Thanksgivings. With nine brothers and sisters, who eventually were bringing spouses and children, you would think every one would be memorable, if only for the chaos and commotion. But my… Continue reading

The wise vote right

Lots of influential people are stumping for their preferred candidates in this week before the mid-terms. God also is throwing his unmatched weight behind his picks. Somebody please put this on a billboard.… Continue reading

Parents practice this prayer principle

If we had good parents, and/or are good parents, we’ve experienced this. When a child asks for something special, his or her behavior factors into whether or not the something is given. You… Continue reading

Some possibly true positions on prayer

A note to the reader as I continue my series on prayer: I could be wrong. Shocking, I know. I’ve been pondering problems with prayer, praying for perspicacity, and putting my presumptions into… Continue reading

A particularly powerful problem

I have to believe that prayer is not meant to be problematic. No passage in the Bible that I can think of suggests that it is. And I am not suggesting that everyone… Continue reading