The pastor walked back down the dirt trail etched in the side of the Arkansas mountains, his heart heavy. The new visitor at church had begged and pleaded. “Please, sir. Please visit my family. They live up in the mountains just outside of town. I’ve been telling them about Jesus, about how he changed me but I don’t think they’re listening.” The young man’s ears reddened. “My family is a mite…peculiar. Superstitious. They think I’m confused but I believe they might listen to you.” He could never deny such a request. After work and supper the following day, he’d set…

A cold, clenched stomach. Darkness. A pounding heart. All you want to do is hide. You beg the eyes fixed on you to disappear but they won’t. They gape and you wonder what they must think, how they must see you. You feel worthless. Exposed. I’m talking about shame.  Is there a more miserable feeling? Growing up with a seizure disorder left me with plenty of fodder for times to reflect on this feeling. Most of the time I felt normal. Included. And then suddenly, my world would go black. Time would stop. I felt as if I were walking…

A counterfeit is only good if it looks like the real thing, and there are con men who dedicate their entire lives to the art of cheating someone out of a dollar, their livelihood, or their life. According to infamous hustlers, great con men succeed in three areas. First, they are good listeners. Forget about that silver tongue. A cheater knows how to patiently listen for pertinent information they can then twist for their own purposes. Second, hustlers can fool someone through social credentials. A simple business card lends an air of authenticity to a man, though his skill set…

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. End of the year school activities. New summer schedules. Church classes to teach. Writing deadlines and an upcoming book to launch. Loved ones in the hospital and children going through tough stuff. Life can sometimes keep us spinning. To use a Southern turn of phrase…I've been dragging tail. I confess I've begun to wonder, “What if the demands never ease? What if I fail my kids? My family? My church? What if I can't keep it together until the storm passes?” What Ifs are a poor way to live. And then God led…

I’ve seen the photos and memes of one particular phrase floating around the past several years and I bet you have too. It’s this: God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. Judging by how frequently it’s shared, it’s a rather popular sentiment.  After all, it sounds good. Perhaps even a trifle comforting. There’s nothing we need more in the middle of our personal storms to know that our crisis won’t destroy us. That we’re strong enough to handle it and emerge victorious. I understand the warm fuzzies that come from this well-intentioned phrase but honestly, I believe the idea that…

The opposite of love is not hate. It's fear.  How many lives have been destroyed because of fear? How many marriages ruined, how many children scarred, how many dreams unfulfilled and how many people chained in the terrifying prison of addiction because of fear? So many of us are experiencing a life half-lived. We cower in the shadows, afraid to confront the wounds we need to expose to God's light. This hissing snake tells us no one will understand if we share our feelings. It says people could never love us and God could never forgive us if they knew…