Words of Life

I read a story in the news about a billboard off I-95 in North Fort Lauderdale that simply read, “Brad Loves Melissa.” Brad had noticed that a jewelry company had a prominent billboard that his wife passed by every day on her commute to work. Over the years Brad had…

Sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like the shutter on my camera opens and closes repeatedly with a parade of faces moving through my mind. A mother, a grandmother, a future doctor or teacher, a baby, face after face after face floods my memory. I want you to meet…

I used to wake up dreading the routine stares and whispers from strangers. Having to deal with all of that on a regular basis was tough in itself, but little did I know, it was about to get a lot worse – and all in the blink of an eye.…

My son Cooper was born and lived three and a half years of his life in Africa. He is five now and is wrestling with the fact that his skin color is a few – strike that – a lot of shades darker than his brother's and mine and Zac's…

The other day I was in a drive-thru early in the morning. I wanted to surprise my daughter with one of her favorite biscuits. This eating establishment makes them every morning – golden brown on the top and bottom, fluffy in the middle, and good and buttered all around.  It's…

Everyone eventually wakes up to a day when bad news comes. A diagnosis. A call in the night. A notice posted at work. A police officer at your door. In what feels like a very short life, I've already had several times like that. I bet you have too.  Just…

“Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials,” James tells us, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” Ordinarily, this is counterintuitive. The testing of our faith tends to cause anxiety, fear, confusion, or irritation. What kind of trial can cause us joy? James goes on in…

Ask any group of longtime believers this question: Is a bad thought the same thing as a bad action in God’s eyes? Most will say “yes.” If you want to get more specific, ask if God equates anger to murder. Again, I bet most will agree. For most of my…

Journal Entry from February 15, 2012   I know that I haven't been feeling 100 percent in the past week, but I wasn't about to tell anyone just how "not great" I've been feeling. This type A person can't bear the thought of not being able to make round four…

The word honor actually means "to esteem at the highest level" or "to add weight to." It comes from a time when people used to weigh shekels (coins) to determine their value. The heavier the coin, the more value it had. And so it is with honor – the more…