Have you ever tried to make something be what it can never be? Annie and Emma are in the back seat at Sonic Drive-In, enjoying an after school snack while we sit with engine running. It’s unseasonably cold this week. So cold that there is no one dining at the outdoor tables, the same tables […]

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 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 […]

“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 […]

“Daddy, I have a question.” I hear this often from my daughters. 2nd grader’s this year, they love learning. I wonder what her question is this time? What’s 16 + 16? How to spell “clock”? Or maybe something regarding a favorite place, like “When are we going to Krispy Kreme again?” “Sure, Emma, what’s your question?” […]