When I was a child, I understood that being a real Christian meant not doing certain things. Those evil things that I understood to be un-Christian-like were things that would lead you down the highway to hell. Here were a few of those no-no’s… Dancing Drinking Smoking Gambling Cussing Certain types of card games (like [...]

I heard it again last night. In fact I hear it nearly every night. Cooper repeats the same thing every night as I put him to bed, “Dad, will you wake me up early in the morning so I can get up and play. It’s going to be a great day.”As I listened to him [...]

I’m finding more and more Christians all the time that believe … to be a good Christian and to go to heaven you must be an AA Christian. “AA” stands for attendance and abstinence. To go to heaven you must have faithful “attendance” in church (which includes singing, giving, communion, etc) and “abstain” from bad [...]

I think the story of James Henry Smith is interesting. James died a few months back at age 55 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was a zealous Pittsburgh Steelers fan. After his death his family planned for an unusual viewing of his body. Per the families request, instead of a coffin the funeral home placed James [...]

I knew it was going to be a big funeral. That’s why I had planned ahead to be early. Since I was just attending this funeral and not actually doing it, I knew seating in the little country church building was going to be at a minimum. I’ve had to stand for forty-five minutes for [...]

I ran across “the” letter this week while looking for something else. It’s a letter I’ll never forget. When I opened it for the first time I was shocked. I’d never received a letter like this one. I’d seen letters from people complaining before, but never this angry and never actually signed by the sender. [...]

My friend’s name is Caleta May, but I’ve always called her “the mouth of the south.” She was a HUGE talker when she was a sweet but typical teenage girl. I met her when she was a young camper at the session that I directed at summer church camp. She has always had a special [...]

While Lea and I were watching the Cowboys play football this past Sunday, Cooper was playing a video game in his room. Every now and then Lea and I could hear Cooper getting a little mad at the game he was playing. I had already told him once, “If it’s going to make you that [...]

Here are a few things I jotted down in my journal this week that I’d like to share with you. Let’s start with a quiz. These aren’t trick questions, and they’re not hard. But play along if you will. Who was physically the strongest man in the Bible? (Samson) Who was the wisest man in [...]

In Jr. High he knew what he should do. He’d been taught in church that he needed to give his life for Christ. But right now he wouldn’t, because he just didn’t feel like he knew enough. “I’ll wait till high school,” he thought. So he waited. He would do it someday. In high school [...]

I love playing games, but not games that last more than about an hour. So when it comes to games like Monopoly and Risk, I’m not a big fan. I just can’t sit still that long. But my kids love long games like Risk. They’ll invite friends over and play a game of Risk for [...]

I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me, but I hurt his feelings. I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but I know did. I was just so caught off guard. What happened? A group of guys had just gathered, and this man started to tell a story. He had peppered the story with [...]

I love a good cliché. Many of them make me laugh. Here are a few of my favorite clichés: “He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow.” “I’m feeling as lucky as a man in a women’s prison with a fist full of pardons.” “I don’t like the cut of his jib” (not [...]

While hiking and fishing in Alaska three years ago with my brother Bruce, the evidence that we were in bear country was everywhere. Signs of partially eaten fish, tracks in the dirt and claw marks on trees were pretty much anywhere you looked. Although I never actually saw a bear on the trip, I have [...]

I see Mrs. C working nearly every time I go out to the prison to teach a class to the prisoners. I’m guessing she’s in her late 50′s or early 60′s. I don’t know much about her other than she works the gate at the prison. And every time I’ve seen her, it’s always the [...]

I’ve been reading Jim Martin’s blog about “Journaling As a Spiritual Discipline” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4). I like his thoughts on journaling and on spiritual disciplines. We don’t do a lot of talking on “spiritual disciplines.” And one spiritual discipline that doesn’t get much attention is fasting. The purpose of [...]

It doesn’t matter what your profession, criticism will be a part of it. It doesn’t matter where you are in life, there will always be criticism. Those with “high-profile” jobs can always expect double the criticism. Just like the football coach who if he runs the ball, everyone thinks he should have passed. If he [...]

An oxymoron are two words that have been put together that contradict one another. Here are a few that make me laugh… Pretty Ugly Work Party Jumbo Shrimp A Little Pregnant Healthy Tan Dressy Flip-Flops Dodge Ram Plastic Glasses Tight Slacks Rap Music Here’s another oxymoron that probably got a laugh from Paul’s readers when [...]

At bed time last night Cooper climbed up in my lap with a couple of books. “The Monster at the End of the Book” with lovable old Grover, and of course “The Three Pigs” were there too. I’ve read The Three Little Pigs so many times that I wrote a post about it a few [...]

My 5 year-old son Cooper, climbed up in my lap last night with three books to read: The Giant Jam Sandwich, Owly and Great White Sharks. Usually included in his stack of books to read is “The Three Little Pigs.” I think he likes it because dad can do a pretty mean “Big Bad Wolf” [...]

The New Year is upon us. Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? Well, if you’re like most Americans (88 percent according to a recent poll), you have at least one resolution. And, if you are like the majority of these promise-makers, your resolution is probably related to health and fitness. But how about some [...]

Not long ago while traveling in the car, we played a game to help pass the time. We tried to see how many spiritual applications we could make out of road signs we passed. We came up with a bunch. Here’s a few… NO U-TURN: Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his [...]