Hope in the Midst of Failure

Hope in the Midst of Failure

You have to feel for Carson Wentz. The Indianapolis Colts are paying him millions of dollars.  He has sufficiently elite skills to be one of only 32 athletes who will regularly start at quarterback for an NFL team next fall.  Just six years ago he was...
The Watchers

The Watchers

A dozen years ago, the authors of a popular blog in the state of Oklahoma took a poll: “Who is the most powerful person in our state?”Jesus came in second – a rather surprising outcome, given that Oklahoma is widely regarded as the buckle on the Bible Belt.Chief...
Rituals of Grace

Rituals of Grace

I began to tie my own necktie when I was a teenager. From the start, it seemed maddeningly difficult.  Unnatural.  I felt clumsy.  Do I really have to learn how to do this? Over time, however – and lots of practice – things changed. ...
Laughing at the Devil

Laughing at the Devil

Some subjects are just too painful, too controversial, or too recent to make people laugh.Surely Adolph Hitler is near the top of that list.But that didn’t stop actor and director Mel Brooks from satirizing Nazi Germany just 22 years after the collapse of the Third...
Just Be There

Just Be There

Year ago I heard a presentation called “What Not to Say at a Funeral.” In the presence of someone else’s grief and pain, so often we feel compelled to say something – anything – that will help make sense of the mystery of this loss.  We want to make the...
McHappiness

McHappiness

McDonald’s is amazing. The chain with the golden arches has been presenting itself as the world’s greatest happiness provider for almost 80 years now.The original McDonald’s restaurant – owned by brothers Dick and “Mac” McDonald – opened in San Bernardino,...