"Runt." "He'll never live." "He's so scrawny." I don't know what I did wrong. I was born, I guess. While all my brothers and sisters were cute, wriggly little pups, I was the outcast. Never expected to do much. To be much. At the pet store, the chubby, groping fingers of girls and boys would rove over all of our heads, scratching our ears, picking us up and snuggling their cheeks next to ours. Such happy feelings filled me, I couldn't help but lick their giggling faces with big swipes of my tongue. But eventually those happy feelings died as…

You’re living in trying times, my friend. Trust me, I have an inkling of the discomfort you bear. Instability and chaos on every side, opinions being flung about with startling force, political upheaval, food shortages, and financial distress. It’s difficult to sleep some nights, isn’t it? But take heart. I survived and so will you. By the grace of the Almighty, you will come through this trying season stronger and wiser. But if you care to receive some prodigious advice from one who has battled through one of our nation’s most difficult hours, I would be so inclined to lend…

The year 2020 was supposed mean vision. 20/20 laser focus on what's important. At least, that's what a friend recently told me. She scratched her head. "This was supposed to be the year for clarity. Why does it feel more like I should be watching for a plague of locusts on the horizon?" It's been rough. COVID-19, riots, murder hornets, food shortages, natural disasters, and economic instability has left the world reeling with anxiety. To be honest, I took most of the upheaval in stride. Kids doing school from home? No problem. I homeschooled for years. It was like slipping…

During this tumultuous season in our nation, its easy to raise our voices, to shout our opinions, our convictions, and our testimonies. In all honesty, I feel that social media can become a riot of its own...a mob of anger, name-calling, opportunities to be 'seen', and pointing fingers. Little of it is effective. Some of it causes the wounds to deepen. We live in a sin-sick world, filled with broken people who have been grieved and hurt by other wounded people. The ripple effects of these decisions cascade down through generations. That's what sin does. It kills. It destroys. It…

The Arkansas State Police is a happening place to be, especially in the motor vehicle office and even more so from one to four when they are administering driving tests. I recently took a family member to fill out some paperwork, which provided me plenty of time to sit in the waiting room and watch people coming and going. Anxious teens milled around, some of whom were too cool to show their jitters. Nervous mothers smacking gum contrasted against parents who rolled their eyes, muttering to the person on the other end of their cell phone that young Anthony "...better…

I desperately want people to like me. There. I said it. The thought of someone being displeased with me in any way drops a sick feeling in my gut. What's one way to shake that cold feeling of dread? Work harder. Be more agreeable, more likable. Fit in. Be accepted and never, ever let them see the real you. After all, if they know what you're really like, the acceptance will disappear. Right? That's what I told myself, anyways. I've battled people pleasing all my life. I can readily admit it now, but I would have died a thousand deaths…