In 1963, Paul McCartney was living with Jane Asher, his girlfriend at the time, at her family’s home in London. One night, he had a dream of the good times of his youth. When he woke up the next morning, he sat at the piano at the foot of his bed and composed one of…
A Swiss guy asked two Americans for directions. He asked, “Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?” The Americans responded with helpless stares. The man gave it another try. “Excusez-moi, parlez vous Français?” Still no reply from the Americans. “Parlare Italiano?” Still, no reply. “Hablan ustedes Espanol?” Still, nothing. The Swiss guy drove off in frustration. Then…
We are all familiar with the metaphor about life that says we have all been “dealt a deck of cards.” You have to play the deck you’re dealt. You don’t get to play someone else’s hand. In your deck were several jokers and wild cards, of which you had no control: Place of birth Generational…
The marathon at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis was one for the ages. The first-place finisher, Fred Lorz, hitched a ride in a car to the end of the course after he was struck with serious cramping. Thomas Hicks, who finished second, was poisoned before the race, and had to be carried across the…
In the 1975 movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Black Knight (John Clease) lost both arms in the heat of combat. He said to King Arthur (Graham Chapman), “It’s just a flesh wound.” The Black Knight did what addicts of all stripes have been doing since the Garden. He minimized. We only find…
If you are to be successful, you will need to set goals – for your recovery, spiritual disciplines, exercise, reading, etc. The Bible says it like this: “An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions” (Proverbs 17:24). What is a goal set in F.A.I.T.H.? It is: Focused: It’s…
Three elementary school friends were bragging about their ancestors. One boy said, “My grandfather was a World War II hero.” The second boy said, “That’s nothing! My great-grandfather led the American League in home runs in 1912.” They turned to the third boy, who said, “I’ve got you both beat. If my great-grandfather was still…
God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines. That’s good news, because we are all crooked sticks. None of us has batted 1.000, thrown only touchdowns, and made every shot. While some of us are more crooked than others, we all are crooked, with a bent toward selfishness and indulgence. But that’s okay. God is…
We find this intriguing verse buried deep within the pages of the Old Testament: “King Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail – they were wrecked at Ezion Geber” (1 Kings 22:48). The ships never set sail. So sad. That is a commentary on…
On Halloween, 1900, a ten-year-old boy wanted to go trick-or-treating with his older brothers. But when his mother told him he was too young, he flew into a rage. The boy stormed out of his house and punched an apple tree until his knuckles were raw. His mother sat down with her son that night,…