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THIS IS ONE OF THE STRANGEST STORIES I have to tell. Back in 1988 I was editing a magazine that Bible study teachers in several denominations used in their church Sunday School classes. At the beginning of the magazine, on the inside front cover, I …

A SEMINARY PROF I know had one trick for shutting up his two little boys when they wouldn’t stop chattering. Especially in the morning, when he and his wife were trying to get them ready for school. He’d lay a hand on their head and bless them. He …

IN THE FACE OF DANGER, song writers in Bible times liked to lean on God. But we should probably remember that they are songs about God, not necessarily promises from God. Psalm 121 isn’t a song you’d want to sing to someone who just lost a loved one …

I’M REMEMBERING LOTS OF STUFF this month. I have to. It’s because of my Bible study class, which meets in a trailer at church. Space is tight because our young adults keep making babies like it’s fun. We have a four-week series this month that spins …

STUCK-IN-THE-MUD Christians got a wake-up call this week. By “stuck-in-the-mud,” I mean stuck in their tradition of going to church every Sunday morning to zone out while the preacher recites another Bible story that might have been interesting to …

IF YOU END UP in a crappy job, don’t stay there. I have relatives who live in coal mining country. As far as I can tell, there are only two main career options: coal mining and healthcare. If you want to dance ballet for a living, you’re going to …

“THE BIBLE’S WORST MOM.” That was my pastor’s sermon on Mother’s Day, yesterday. The kid’s got guts. I’ll give him that, along with a tax-deductible charitable contribution and a little extra for the building fund, since my Bible study group is …

IT’S JUST ME AND 3 DOGS as I write this. Out of my family of one wife and two kids, I’m the only one who didn’t want a dog in the house. But I’m the only one left with the dogs now. My son and his wife own two of the dogs. They get home from a trip …

DON’T SPREAD THE WORD. This is not a Mother’s Day article I’d want out there too far. Let’s keep it in the family of folks who read my books. I created a video tribute to Mom back in 2012, when she was pretty sick. My plan was to play it at her …

I GET SAD every May 4th. It’s because I remember what happened outside the Kent State University building where I took most of my classes. Taylor Hall. I was a news journalism major there. That’s where I learned how to write and where I learned how …

SHORT AND SWEET. I’ve got a question. What good is your mother? Seriously. I’m curious because I’m teaching a Bible study session about moms, and I’m doing it on Mother’s Day. Some mothers I know I’d rather not know. They should never have been …

IT’S BAD ENOUGH that we have to forgive viperous people in our life who do nothing but spit poison at us whenever they open their seemingly God-forsaken mouth. Do we have to stay in their snake pit and keep them in our life? Do we have to tolerate …