BLOG

When I was nine years old, early in baseball season I heard about an all star game that would be played at the end of the season. Being a baseball fan, I knew what an all star game was, so I wanted to make that all star team more than anything. But I wasn’t that good. So when players were picked (just a couple from each team), and I was never notified that I made it, I couldn’t accept it. When the day of the game came at the end of summer, I got up early and put my uniform an

Who or what you worship determines who or what you are.In his book, The Source , James Michener tells the story of a man named Urbaal, who was a farmer living about 2200 B.C. He worshiped two gods, one a god of death, the other a goddess of fertility. One day, the temple priests told Urbaal to bring his young son to the temple for sacrifice––if he wanted good crops. Urbaal obeyed, and on the appointed day, dragged his wife and boy to the scene of the boy’s “religious executio

I was a 20 year old college student driving down an interstate highway. I didn’t have any money, but had an old AMC Matador (AMC is no longer around). Traveling at about 65mph, the hood latch gave way, and the hood popped up and slammed back into my windshield, creating a spiderweb crack and covering my view of the road (and other cars). It was just like the movie Tommy Boy.  Talk about scary! Somehow, I braked slowly and was able to move to the side of the road without hitti

Our church is still reeling from the tragic death of Rachel Larson, a long-time and faithful member of The Bridge. Partly because she is someone a large percentage of those of us in The Bridge family knew and loved, and partly because of the terrible circumstances surrounding her fatal accident at Camp Awana. The outpouring of love and remembrances of Rachel, about who she was, how she lived, and the way she touched others, has been overwhelming. A number of social media trib

Does it seem like you are just going through the motions? You get up and go to work, rush to an activity of some sort (pre and post COVID), then go home, watch a little TV and go to bed. And you do that day after day. On weekends there are Saturday chores, grocery shopping, and maybe church. Then Monday.Has life lost its luster? Is it feeling monotonous? Are you bored in the middle of all that is going on?It happens to just about everyone. But there are some key ingredients G

This has been another tough week for our nation. President Trump appeared overwhelmed by resentment of the election loss and he double-downed on his accusations of fraud. His language seemed to incite the subsequent attack on the capital by extremists. A woman was shot and killed by Capital Police in the assault, and a couple of others involved also lost their lives due to medical conditions during the chaos. A police officer defending the capital has since died from injuries

Timanthes was an aspiring Greek artist in the Roman era. While studying under a well respected tutor, he was nearing completion of a major painting. Upon arriving in the morning, he found the canvas blotted out with paint. Enraged, he confronted his teacher who admitted destroying his work. He said, “You were spending so much time admiring what you had done that you were no longer improving. This was a great painting for some, but not for you. You can do much better.” Timanth

It’s not been a good year. We started to realize this last March. By April, I was reading articles and memes about turning the calendar back to 2019. As we moved into the fall, those articles and memes morphed into jumping forward to 2021. We pretend that the pandemic, political divide, quarantines, race issues, job losses, anger, shutdowns, and hatred, are the fault of a calendar year. So logically, let’s blame it all on 2020. And now that Christmas is over, let’s just get t

Whether or not COVID has changed things for you this year, you are likely reading this because you are spending the whole holiday, or part of it, alone. Sometimes being alone is a welcomed break. But often, it is not. Usually on Christmas, it’s not.I have a wife and extended family, with kids and grandkids, so it may appear that I don’t know what it’s like to feel and be alone on Christmas. But I do.I was that kid in Bible College that had nowhere to go for Christmas. Just so

Some of you are really stressed out. Especially after this year, and maybe every year at this time.Some of you admit it…and maybe your family, friends, and coworkers are even tired of hearing about it. Some of you don’t really admit it. But the sleepless nights, stomach issues, and high blood pressure reveal what’s really going on.Stress is deadly. Mayo clinic claims that it is the chief cause of early onset heart disease, along with a myriad of other health issues. Stress in

While some of you absolutely love this time of year, others of you dread it. For some, it brings back hurting memories and it feels physically and emotionally draining. With 2020 being what it was, maybe this year it feels even worse. But whether you love the season or hate it, it is here nonetheless. So why not make Christmas special? Change those memories and transform the drain into a boost. You can make the most of Christmas and turn it into a delight. Some have lost love

The first pastor that I considered my pastor, was someone who had gone through tremendous hardship in life. His first wife and three little boys died in a car accident, in the car he was driving. He was the sole survivor, and his physical recovery took a year.So in my early Christian life, when I was going through a very hard time, and he sat down to talk to me about how to handle adversity, I was willing to listen. He had been through it, but was also one of the most joy fi