My friend Heather posted this status on her Facebook page: “This morning the little kids came upstairs (very early) with cake and frosting on their faces. They said, “God told us we could have cake for breakfast.” It’s a delightful image, is it not? Little cheeks covered with cake? It reminds us of a simpler [...]

My great uncle, L.D. Thompson, farmed with my Dad and my Grandfather in Iowa. L.D. was a kind and generous man, always helping his friends and neighbors. He also enjoyed playing a good practical joke, most often on those same friends and neighbors. It was sometime around 1951. L.D.’s cousin Burdette Carlson came out for [...]

In late summer before my junior year of high school in 1979 our small town in Iowa was on the receiving end of some torrential rains. So much that it flooded our football field. Not in a “give ‘er a week and it’ll dry out” way. Rather in a “how long and how many pumps [...]

We notice him as we walk into Whataburger. A frail, slightly stooped elderly man helping his equally frail wife get out of a big white Mercury Marquis. While she balances precariously on a four-footed cane, he tries to pull the sleeve of her red sweater up over her shoulder. Inside we are second in line. [...]

In literature, he or she is referred to as the “protagonist”. The leading character, hero, or heroine of the drama. These are the good guys. The good girls. The characters who, though not perfect and may stumble along the way, do the right thing. Especially in the end. As good literature proves, without tension there [...]

The following is a confession. I’ve apologized and asked forgiveness of the offended Party. Now it’s time for that “confess your sin to one another” part of the process. In a sentence…I have allowed my burden to become an idol. For my readers who don’t know me, four years ago my spouse chose to walk [...]

Do you ever wonder if your kids are listening? Do you ever wonder if they take to heart anything that you tell them? Do they ever connect the dots in ways that surprise you? It’s bedtime. Past bedtime, actually. Being a bad Dad or good Dad, depending on your perspective, I had allowed Annie and [...]

I can’t remember what it was about. I can’t remember who was in it. All I remember is that it was a happy place. Relaxing. Peaceful. Serene. Everything good dreams are made of. TapTapTapTapTap. Each poke of her little index finger on my shoulder hit the elevator button on my slumber, bringing me up from [...]

When I work in Roswell, New Mexico I always go to Sam’s Club to fill up my gas tank. Not to save a nickel a gallon, though that’s nice, too. I go in hopes that Bob will be on duty. It’s supposed to be a three hour drive from Lubbock to Roswell but it’s funny [...]

(This appeared as the back page “Classic Thoughts” column in the February 2010 issue of “The Classic”, the alumni magazine of  Northwestern College. I’m grateful for the privilege to contribute to this fine publication.) Pulling into the parking lot, I ask my 9-year-old twin daughters the same question I ask every week. “Girls, what are [...]

It was January of 1994. The first night of my first ever seminary class. I sat down at a round table and shook hands with a guy I knew went to the same church I did, but had yet to meet. “Hi, I’m Greg.” “I’m Todd. Good to meet you.” Dr. Oberholtzer opened the class [...]

“Remember…the first thing you do when you get to Fairmont is fill up with gas.” Dad handed me the keys to his 1978 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. “Yeah, Dad. I know. I’ll remember.” It was daylight when I left for Fairmont, the closest “big town” for us just across the Iowa state line into Minnesota. I [...]

When’s the last time God stretched your ideas of what worship can look like? And whatever your idea of worship style is, when’s the last time you experienced something completely different? Perhaps more importantly, when’s the last time God stretched your thinking about how He can speak to you? I grew up in a Baptist [...]

What are you good at? Do you have a green thumb and grow beautiful plants? Are you a whiz in the workshop, building lovely pieces of furniture? Are you a talented public speaker or a great cook? An expert teacher in your discipline? How did you become good at what it is you’re good at? [...]

It’s been said a picture is worth a thousand words. For this Minnesota Vikings fan, the two pictures I saw recently were worth at least that many. And no small number of them were cuss words. No worries. I didn’t say anything. Not out loud, anyway. I was hanging out with my daughters at The [...]

How do you worship God? Do you sing? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you pray? Do you read the Bible? Do you dance? These are all appropriate expressions of worship. (Yes, my Baptist friends, even dancing.) Yet it seems that the best act of worship is one we often fail to do. Or [...]

During a phone conversation with an old college friend, we got into a “do you ever hear from so and so?” stream of thought. One name mentioned would spark another name. Some we’d heard from or knew their whereabouts. Others we had to say, “Haven’t seen them in over 20 years.” Reflecting later on our [...]

(This evening I had the honor of officiating the wedding of my friends Lindsey Colvin and Philip Ramirez. A beautiful ceremony in the Colvin’s backyard vineyard under the big West Texas sky.) It is an ordinary moment in the kitchen. Standing and talking around the island. We should probably sit down in the living room [...]

In the days following several recent celebrity deaths I observed more than a few Christians wondering out loud about eternal destiny. In Sunday morning church lobby conversations, Facebook posts, and face to face talks over soup and salad, I listened to Christians making the assumption that Michael Jackson didn’t go to heaven. Some said it [...]

You can see what is going to happen. The guy in the parking lot is carrying a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. Under each arm and in both hands. As long as he doesn’t lean too far side to side, forward or back, he will keep his balance. But he’s starting to lose his [...]

The morning begins with their beautiful faces. “Here, Daddy. We have something for you!” Two Father’s Day cards. One store bought and one homemade. “Daddy, see how I did the design around the hearts?” They are no longer the little babies I used to carry, one in each hand. I remember how natural it felt [...]

Remember the old joke about the guy who lost his wallet on the street? A passerby asked, “Where do you think you dropped it?” “Oh, I didn’t lose it here.” “If you didn’t lose it here, why are you looking for it under this street light?” To which the man replied, “Because the light is [...]

Nobody knows the name of the New Orleans French chef who sold his recipe to Vernon Rudolph back in 1937. But the millions who have had the delightful pleasure of biting into a Krispy Kreme doughnut over the decades would like to say thank you. I can’t point to chapter and verse, but my conviction [...]

Where she came from, I don’t know. Why she picked that road, I don’t know. And why she brought her kids along was beyond me. From everything I could see, she didn’t have the sense God gave a goose. Eastbound on the frontage road at the perpetually busy intersection of Loop 289 and Quaker. I’m [...]

Last Thursday morning before driving the twins to school, Annie and Emma and I had a quick prayer time. On the way to the fireplace bricks, where we like to sit for such moments, Emma bumped her knee. It wasn’t even a scratch or a scrape and certainly nothing that merited the drama she was presenting. [...]