I don’t know why I ever decided to keep it. It makes me mad every time I look at it.
The cover of the Sports Illustrated from 1975 says, “Cowboys Win A Shocker”. The Minnesota Vikings had the playoff game in the bag. Roger Staubach and the Cowboys were down and time was running out. On a desperation play […]

Phil Collins is a popular and highly successful musician whose career has spanned several decades as a drummer and solo artist. Back in the early 80’s he was on tour with Robert Plant. They were staying at the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago. Between themselves, their band and their entourage they occupied about 30 rooms, paying exorbitant prices.
On the […]

Over the holidays some dear friends gave me a great Christmas present. Tickets to Santa’s Village, a Christmas theme amusement park that sets up each year at Firebird Raceway here in Phoenix. We had a blast on the rides, eating kettle corn and cotton candy. It was a delightful afternoon spent making memories with my twin 6-year […]

Before there was a beginning, there was God.
Before there was a universe with galaxies and black holes and white hot stars, there was God.
God filled this nothingness and there was no void, because God is all God needs. He is complete in and of Himself. He is in the best sense of the word completely […]

Ever watch the “Antiques Roadshow”? It’s a TV program that goes from city to city with a group of expert appraisers who evaluate the treasures people bring in. The show is eclectic in that you learn about the history of diverse items. Everything from vases and furniture to jewlery and sports memorabilia.
For those individuals selected to be on […]

Heading for the check out lane at Fry’s Food and Drug tonight I glanced at a display rack of DVD’s.
“All Movies $9.99″.
On the top row in the middle was “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, an epic film from 1965 about the life of Jesus Christ. From His miraculous virgin birth to His sacrificial death on the cross, and […]

Take an evening stroll around the neighborhood this month and you’ll see a variety of nativity sets. Some are wood. Some are cardboard cut outs. Some are hollow painted plastic with light bulbs inside. Wherever you live, nativity sets all have the same figures. Mary and Joseph. Shepherds and wise men. Some animals. And of […]

Back in the day, before farmers relied solely on herbicides in their Iowa soybean fields, the preferred method of weeding was “walking beans”. It was a predictable summer job. You’d get your crew together, most of the time your family, spread out and walk down the field getting rid of the weeds that grew. Each […]

Hope Covenant, my home church, is in Chandler, Arizona. Like the other towns in the Phoenix valley, it began as a small farming town that over the decades morphed into an urban area. About 3 million people live in the metro area known as the “Valley of the Sun”. Vestiges of the former agricultural existence […]

Years ago in the church I attended back in Iowa I had my first experience with nursery duty. While I am now a pro and can handle anything and everything related to kids, back then I was only comfortable as long as they were happy. It was that crying thing that I was afraid of. After raising […]

What’s on your refrigerator doors?
Ours is covered with photographs and the obligatory magnets to hold them all in place. It’s a hodgepodge of themes. An Andy Griffith Show magnet holding a photo of Allison, Shelby and Shaun; our nieces and nephew. A Chicago skyline magnet securing a winter photo of my Uncle Ev’s farm in […]

When I was in high school my sister Joleen had a horse. I’d ridden him at a gallop many times and thought I’d gone as fast as that horse could go. Until one day my cousin Becky came over on her horse. Then her horse and my sister’s horse decided between themselves they’d show each […]

When I was in high school, a friend of mine made plans to spend his summer riding across the United States with a group of bicycle enthusiasts. For his trip he bought a brand new Sekai touring bike. The bike was expensive and looked it. Everything from wheel to wheel was top of the line. […]

Last Wednesday evening I took the girls to Golfland to play mini-golf. When you play putt-putt with twin 6-year olds, you don’t bother playing yourself. You just help them try to stay focused on the hole in front of them and keep them from trying to climb the Windmill or wade in the water hazard.
They […]

She’s a beautiful 8 year-old girl with spark and energy. Look at her face and into her bright eyes for only a second and you can feel her keen sense of awareness. Megan is very smart, very strong and, like all kids her age, can be very stubborn.
Of all the delightful kids who come to […]

It was fall of 1993. We had lived here only a couple months and were still finding our way around the valley. One late afternoon we discovered a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Mesa and had dinner there.
When we were finished I went up to the counter to pay the check. After the cashier handed me […]

It was 25 years ago this month that my Grandpa Thompson passed away. I just realized that today. On the calendar, 25 years is a long time. Yet in my mind not all that long ago. When I look in the mirror, it’s easy to see I’m not the 18 year-old kid who preached his […]

Anyone you know that’s not acting like themselves this week? Someone who doesn’t seem like they’re on top of their game?
They say, “What you see is what you get.” Rarely is that true when it comes to people. For most of us, life is like an iceberg. The bulk of what’s there is below the […]

 
It’s 8:40 PM. I smell water in the air.
The palm trees are swaying in a breeze that is more than a breeze but not yet a wind. It feels like the atmosphere is getting ready to take a really deep breath before exhaling.
The rain starts falling on my drive home from downtown Phoenix. There are […]

About a month ago I noticed my lawn beginning to wake up. Understand, my patch of backyard grass takes all of five minutes to cut. I had five minutes so I rolled out the mower. It never takes more than two pulls for the Briggs & Stratton to fire up. Yet on this day, it […]

He was sorting through a wall rack of Phoenix Suns T-shirts, obviously not finding the size he was looking for. He had his back to me when I asked, “Can I help you?”
Still focused on the shirts he answered, “Do you have this in a Small?”

That voice. I’ve heard it before. But not in a […]

My favorite time of year here in the Phoenix valley is anytime my roses are blooming. Like right now. My back yard is awash in red, orange, white, lavender, pink, yellow, coral, and peach. The hummingbirds swoop in to check them out before moving to the front yard where they prefer the trumpet shaped blooms […]

Got an email the other day with the subject line “Interesting Trivia”. It said that at two minutes and three seconds after 1 PM today the date will be:
01:02:03; 04/05/06
It won’t happen again for a hundred years.
We tend to take note of events that don’t come around often. Halley’s Comet makes an appearance every 76 […]

“I never get a vacation. I need one, but I never get one.”
“I need sleep. I’m not getting enough. When I can’t fully recharge with a good night’s sleep, work is overwhelming.”
“I’d love to take a nap. But I have so much to do that I feel guilty taking one.”
That’s what I heard today from […]

 
It’s dry in the desert. That’s why they call it a desert. On a good year, the Phoenix valley receives only 7″ of rain. This hasn’t been a good year. Until God turned on the faucet last Saturday, it had been 143 days in a row with no rain. The last time water fell from […]