I woke up this morning with a hangover. No, not “that” kind of hangover. It was a “still-thinking-too-much-of-myself” state carried over from last night. My selfishness, and more accurately my self-centeredness, manifests itself in the subtlest of forms. I was unusually vulnerable with a small…

Our dog Greta barely passed her Doggie Obedience class. She failed miserably the sit, stay, and heel part of class. But she was the all-star, the top dog in her class in one category….. it was when the command “COME” was given. During this part…

A “pit” plain and simply sounds like a nasty place. Descriptive words for a pit that come to my mind are: smelly (think arm-pit!), isolated (bottom-of-the-pit), disastrous (as in, my little brothers bedroom-pit), dark, lonely, hopeless, forgotten, cheerless, void- of-laughter kind of place. Joseph’s brothers…

“For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy.” John Piper – Don’t Waste Your Life

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” ― William Shakespeare

We became pen pals and started getting to know each other when he was 21 years old. So as Jon turns 50 years old this weekend, I am calculating that I have known him for 29 years. I am so grateful for the past 29…