My friends and I used to crouch beside my dad’s giant Wharfedale speakers, ears poised to catch every nuance of the music. Compared to our transistor radios, those speakers were like being on stage. That’s why I remember hearing Johnny Cash perform San Quentin live, right there at the prison. The song was a diatribe, and the […]
Category: relationships
The secret of beach glass.
My grandparents collected beach glass. It’s what old people do for lack of purpose, thought my late-twenties self. (Though, to be fair, I did envy their shark’s teeth collection.) Over time, I realized their glass gathering was an evening unwind after their work was finished. They spent their days volunteering, praying for church and family matters, […]
7 reasons for patience in relationships
We all behave in ways we regret. Poor choices, bad timing, ill-chosen words. I recall an outburst that brought tears to my hearer. Who wouldn’t pay dearly to redo such a scene and choose kindness instead? Here are seven reasons to choose patience in the moment. 1. Inexperience takes time to overcome. Have you ever been […]
Four essentials of a church: love
Love is like heat. So many things in life seem wonderful — pizza, a shower, a cup of coffee, a seat by the window, an iron — until you realize they’re cold. After all, what do you call a morning when you step into the shower and find there’s no hot water? A bad way […]
Taking root and bearing fruit.
People leave. They leave marriages, families, churches, communities, and companies. Leaving can be innate, as when birds leave nests. It can be natural, as in leaving town for a new job elsewhere. It can even be necessary. Dangers, deprivations, and emergencies insist. But just as often, leaving reveals brokenness. Something isn’t working, so we leave. […]
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