“Pick up your jacket and clean your bathroom!” I called from the kitchen. I was ticked as I cleaned the mess my teen had left after they made their own pancakes. The batter was everywhere (even the walls) and the dirty dishes looked like they had just fed an army. Why does it take 4 pans…
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Some of us wonder if our child will ever like us again or want to spend time with us, or worse yet, we wonder if they’ll survive. We’d be content just to hear from them to know they’re alright.
I was nineteen—old enough to know better. My yellow Maverick was a clunker and needed more attention than I was willing to give. In a hurry to get to work, I cranked the engine, threw the car into reverse, checked my mirrors, and backed out into the street. I turned on…
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After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. —1 THESSALONIANS 4:17–18 (NIV) THE SIGN READ: Stay Three Feet from…
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“I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.” Psalm 119:176 (NIV). Do you ever find yourself slightly alienated from God wondering how you can trust God better? Our daughter’s pet helped me understand how easy it was to go astray. “Stop it!” my young daughter scolded.…
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“Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children.” Ephesians 5:1 (NKJV) A couple years ago, I got so mad at my teenager that I cussed. Should Christians cuss? No. But I did, sadly. If you know anything about me, I don’t normally swear and would never allow it in my home. I was raised that this is not…
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Her name was Babette—Babs for short. She was my first Global Positioning System (GPS), and I loved the way she made my life so easy. After a few years, however, I noticed I couldn’t always trust her. One day while I was driving, Babs broke beyond repair. Our relationship was over and…
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I come from a very godly heritage on my mother’s side. I have ancestors and living relatives who are missionaries, pastors, and laypeople deeply grounded in the Word who followed hard after God. I’m thankful for that. Now pause for a minute and picture your own family tree. I’ll bet you thought mostly “up”, didn’t…
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“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) As a young boy, I owned a pet hermit crab named Crusty. His cage contained several spare shells that I painted (blue, red, purple)…
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I’m excited to announce my third anthology with Guideposts “All God’s Creatures: Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers 2021” is now available. Order your copy today https://www.shopguideposts.org/all-god-s-creatures-2021.html
August 26th 2020–Rick and Dan, with guest Tez Brooks talking about his Book of the Decade award.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 From my porch I saw it fly right into someone’s windshield. I walked toward the pile of feathers. A juvenile red-tailed hawk lie on his back, stunned. Wings could be broke… or might just need to rest…
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NASHVILLE– August 20, 2020 Serious Writer chose The Single Dad Detour (Kregel, 2015) by Tez Brooks as “Book of the Decade” Thursday evening. Usually held in New York City, the annual dinner and ceremony were moved to Nashville due to COVID restrictions, with Serious Writer adding Book of the Decade as a new category this…
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“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 Several years ago, I built a pond in our backyard and stocked it with…
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Tomorrow we celebrate Independence Day. Our freedom from England. Several years ago I recall helping my young daughter celebrate freedom by allowing her to walk home half a mile from the grocery store alone…for the first time. She was 13. Was I a little behind with that? Is 13 years-old too long to be just then…
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“For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” Psalm 122:8 (NIV) When my infant daughter got cranky, we would put her in a highchair and roll it over to our 60-gallon fish tank. Sitting two feet from the glass, Jade would immediately stop fussing and lose herself in the…
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“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV) I slapped my legs in horror as I…
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Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 While walking through a wildlife rescue camp where I volunteered, the owner introduced me to Sheba, a Florida cougar who’d been there for years, unable to hunt on her own because of…
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“What have you got on? Nope! Go up ad change right now young lady.” Have you had to have the modesty talk yet? Did she understand, or look at you like you have two heads? For decades, society has been flooding our kids with images of what is acceptable and cool, sexualizing our daughters and…
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