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Last week served as a reminder to me of the reality of death. We attended a wake for a man who was not much older than me. He learned he had cancer one day and eight weeks later, we were at his funeral visitation. From there we went to the hospital to visit a woman who is younger than me. A couple of months ago she was also told she has cancer, and in her hospital room she told my wife and I that she has about six months left.Sometimes people know it is coming. I’m not sure i

I grew up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, a beautiful small city nestled between tall rock faced bluffs and the Mississippi River. The prominent outcroppings that towered above the city were a constant invitation to me as a boy, and as soon as I was old enough to ride my banana seat bike around town without supervision, my friends and I were climbing and exploring those bluffs. We’d bring packs and gear that we bought from the army surplus store, and make a whole day of it.The most i

Here we go! Election season is in full swing. The conventions are coming. A lot of us are in mourning. Let me give you some brief reminders that may help us all get through the months ahead.• Things have been worse. How would you have liked to live under Diocletian and know that being a Christian you’ll soon lose your job and possibly your life? Or maybe it would have been better in medieval Europe, where entire villages were drowned because they practiced baptism the way we

Most of us can point to our greatest regrets in life as things we did or didn’t do when our feelings were in control. It’s always a mistake to let your emotions guide you.

Yesterday was bill paying day. When Linda and I finished and closed the budget spreadsheet, I was in a whiny mood. Who likes sending money out…paying bills?But then a thought came to me, as though it were a rebuke from the Lord. “Look at all you get for what you pay!”I have a warm house in the winter; a cool house in the summer. I have two reliable cars, also with heat and air. We turn a knob and we get our choice of hot or cold water. We turn another knob and we have fire to

If you’re already familiar with Romans 8:28, read it again anyway, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (ESV). It’s a Scripture commonly quoted in Christian circles. But what does it mean? Until recently, I thought I understood it well.But I was reading Romans 8 from the New English Bible (NEB) this morning and had to read verse 28 a couple of times. The translation quoted it differently

If you’re reading this, you don’t want to do that. You wouldn’t be on this page if you didn’t have some interest in church things. Even people who do not go to church are usually happy when their kids do. Church people say they want more than anything for their kids to know and love God, and to be a part of a good church. But the trouble is, too many church people are turning their kids away. How?• By attending when it is convenient. Kids can be fooled for a while. But they

How you manage your emotions has more impact on your marriage, raising kids, and doing well at work than just about anything else. Daniel Goleman, in his book, Emotional Intelligence, demonstrates how a person’s ability to manage his or her emotions has more influence on their success in life than IQ.But managing emotions is not easy. As Goleman said, “The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain.” Our emotional reactions to things tend to get

Someone asked me, “What gets you up in the morning? What gets you out of bed?"The Resurrection of Jesus.If it really happened, it’s the biggest news in world history. It answers all the questions of humanity. It also solves all the problems of mankind. If Jesus really rose again from the dead, there are huge ramifications that transcend a church doctrinal statement. It matters for everyone, inside and outside the church.Jesus’ resurrection proved that there is life after deat

The northwest suburbs are very safe. Our crime rate here is low, and things like murder, rape, home invasions, etc., are rare. But when we moved here from a small town in Wisconsin, we felt like we were moving into gangland. Only because it was “Chicago” and people outside the area associate Chicagoland with lots of crime.Our first night in our house here, August 1, 2007, was one I’ll never forget. Of course, all the doors were locked. Some of our things were still scattered

There is no feeling worse than feeling out of control.I was twenty years old, living in Texas, and on my way home from work. I had gotten up before dawn that day to fix my car, so that it could get me to work, so I was unusually tired. I kept nodding off but was sure I could keep myself awake. Bad decision. When my right front tire left the pavement, it jolted me awake. I saw the speedometer at 55, looked up, and saw a power line pole directly in front of me. I hit the brakes

Linda and I are planning to climb our first 14,000 foot peak this summer. When we decided to go for it, it seemed like quite a feat…at least for a couple of novice climbers like us. But when I compare that to the 29,020 foot Mount Everest, it’s nothing.Climbing Mount Everest has a fascinating history (I will never be a part of it!). Until the mid 90s, 1/4 of all people who attempted to make the summit died in the process. Last year was one of the deadliest years for those mak