In November of 2013, I downloaded a book on my kindle. We Were Soldiers Once…And Young by Joe Galloway. I knew the story, or a version of it at least, made by Hollywood and portrayed in part by Mel Gibson and Sam Elliot. I remember being struck with the
It is late afternoon and the sun is sinking lower and casting long shadows down the draws and crevices along the Owyhee mountains. Out in the valley, sunlight still covers everything, but down the steep slope below me, darkness has already begun to stretch out its fingers and get a
It was the end of the day and I was sitting on the couch and I was tired. My wife and I had just completed the hostage negotiation process that is bedtime and there was quiet in the house. I had decided to fritter away a few precious moments on
I used to sit and watch the steam rise off my coffee. This was particularly evocative on cold mornings in South Africa where many houses have no central heating. I would sit there and watch the thick steam quickly thin and disappear into the air and I would think on
I just started a renovation project in our house. The design, function, and final look of the project have occupied space in my mind. It isn’t always there, but I always come back to it. I plan and scheme and dream of what I want to do. All these
Recently a verse came to my mind. Psalm 43:5. It sums up my feelings lately. I feel cast down. Like a man charging windmills, I fight at nothing and everything. There is a fog between me and the world. I am anxious. Admittance is key to getting help but
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief… Isaiah 53:3 “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the
If you were raised in a church culture or background, the teaching from Matthew 5 is second nature (at least in theory). Love your enemies and those who wish you harm. It is the counter-cultural motif that runs strong throughout history since it was first penned. It goes against every
