My plan: Take a friend to Disney World, spend a day at the beach, and play several rounds of dominoes. The reality: Vomiting, diarrhea, and a trip to the ER. Thomas à Kempis warned me about making plans six centuries ago when he wrote, “Man proposes but God disposes.” He sent some solid advice, but…

I am not a fan of the word, should. I know that I should exercise, I should spend time in prayer, and I should be kind to others; but I don’t find that to be particularly motivating. I know that many believe Christian living to be primarily a list of shoulds with a sprinkling of…

Unwelcome news. The past week has been full of it. A nephew is fighting for his life after complications from a triple bypass surgery. We open each text worrying that it might contain word of a new complication. Where do you go when things go from bad to worse? I turn to the Psalms. Psalm…

“Mr. Baker, you have been charged with committing multiple acts of violence. How do you plead?” “Guilty, Your Honor.” “Do you wish to make a confession?” “Yes, Your Honor. On Tuesday night I went to Wal-Mart, where I hired assassins to cut down an entire wheat field.” “What did you do with the wheat?” “I…

From a distance, it looked like someone was standing with their arms outstretched to heaven, but as I continued to stare, the arms remained raised. “How can anyone hold their arms in the air this long?” I wondered. Other beachgoers would stop and congregate around the figure. Were they having a conversation? Now that my…

Isaiah asked me an interesting question this morning. “Why,” he wondered, “do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2) I had to admit to him that I have developed a taste for the artificial. I mean, why eat a cherry when…

Why do zebras have stripes? I knew the zoo I was visiting did not recognize the existence of a supreme being, and yet they asked the question, and even gave an answer, “To confuse lions and other predators.” It struck me as odd. How can zookeepers who have no place for God, ask questions about…

I pulled out my thesaurus to help me describe how I am feeling. Am I heartsick? Brokenhearted? Heavyhearted? It does have to do with my heart, but I think I will settle on “sad.” Although I now live on the other side of the country, my heart has been in Los Angeles this past week….

Perhaps a waiter is the godliest of all professions. I have never been one, but I have gone out to eat several times this week, giving me a good chance to observe. As I watched my waiter, he made me think of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet and feeding them his body and blood. His…

As we opened the front door, a bat flew into the house. My daughter screamed, while my wife and granddaughters jumped from their chairs and barricaded themselves in the bedroom. The bat found the guest room where it flew in large circles looking for a home. My son-in-law grabbed a broom and attempted to guide…

“I think I may be in a rut,” I thought as I wished yet another acquaintance a “Merry Christmas.” How come it’s a Merry Christmas, but a Happy New Year, a Happy Birthday, and a Happy Thanksgiving? Can’t these other occasions be merry? Can’t Christmas be happy? I suppose, but I’ve never heard of such…

I hate endings, but I find myself racing toward them. Then when I get to the finish line I find that I miss the process. I suffer from the day after let-down. Anticipation is better than remembrance. So why am I in such a rush? I find this race to finish ironic. Quickly, let’s finish…

Do you stay for the credits when you go to the movies? I did last night. They usually run for about five minutes rolling hundreds of names up the screen. Each time I watch, I am amazed at how many different people it takes to make a movie—and most of them are not actors. Movie…

Why would anyone drive from Florida to South Dakota to see an eye doctor? You might understand if Jesus was offering to spit in your eyes, but only if you came to see him in Siouxland. That was not the case with us. We went because we were already halfway there, we were planning to…

Blind guides. That’s what Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees, the teachers who had unquestioned authority over the spiritual lives of the Jewish people. I thought of this as I contemplated who has unquestioned authority over me. One who does is Jane, the disembodied voice of my GPS app. At least she did, but after…

There is something wrong with everything. I learned that again this past week when trading vehicles. We bought a new van a year ago but were extremely disappointed with the gas mileage. It seemed as if we were constantly on the lookout for a gas station and spending way too much time in line for…

My friend, Hal, is a noticer. I am not. For example, he and his wife traveled with us this weekend. As we checked into a hotel, he immediately noticed the desk clerk was wearing an unusual watch. I had not noticed anything about the clerk. Hal made a comment and the man’s face beamed (I…

4:00 AM. Deep sleep. BWAH! BWAH! BWAH! BWAH! Alarms are ringing. I’m suddenly awake along with everyone else in the hotel. Guests wearing pajamas and slippers drift down halls, through the lobby, and into the parking lot. Sleepy-eyed parents hug their young and try to reassure them. Fire trucks arrive, adding a festive, red-light show…

I dream of a world committed to the truth. No, that’s a lie. A world like that would mean that I would have to tell the truth and ever since Adam and Eve we humans have been addicted to lies. “The serpent tricked me.” “Eve made me do it.” “It’s your fault, God. You’re the…

I survived Hurricane Milton! What was predicted to be a category 3 storm when it passed over my house turned out to be only a category 1. The strong winds left a mess in my yard, but my home never lost power and it was not damaged. This was not true for everyone, as many…