This last week surrounding Memorial Day the internet has been flooded with memes reminding us to thank those who have served. I am a proud Navy brat. I know what those who serve—and those who wait for them—sacrifice. And I am grateful for every man and woman who has served even one day. When my father died a year and …
Memorable Day #6: Ciao, Italia
If you read this blog regularly (all six of you), you know that my oldest, Emma, went to Italy last fall to study. You also know that when I “sent her off” to college I didn’t really send her very far—only about 40 minutes away, and that we saw her an average of three times a week. So putting her …
What Exactly Was Jesus’ Crime?
The last night of Jesus’ life he ate with his disciples. Judas left to betray him to the Jewish leaders, and then Jesus left to pray. Sometime after midnight, He was arrested. Between then and nine (the third hour) the next morning, when he was crucified, he was the defendant in six illegal trials. Before Annas, the former High Priest and father-in-law …
Happy New Year!
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
“We Three Kings Of Orient Are?”
When Jesus was born, he was visited first by shepherds, and then by what have become known as the “Three Kings.” These men brought gifts to the baby: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, the Bible never says there were three, and they are never identified as kings. It has been assumed the since there were three gifts, there must have …
Away in a Manger?
Every child who has gone to Sunday school in December knows the traditional Christmas story: Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem just in time for Mary to give birth to the baby Jesus. A heartless innkeeper turns away the pregnant woman and her apparent husband, who are then forced to seek refuge in a stable or even a cave. Luke …
Memorable Day #3: Bringing Them Home
Thirteen years ago yesterday we brought home Dara and Johnny. While we spent three weeks in Kazakhstan adopting Mira, we were gone only ten days start to finish with these two. We arrived home around 6pm the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. John’s dad brought Emma and Mira to the airport, and several of our friends were waiting at our house to greet …
Why Can’t Hallmark Publish My Book?
I love the TV show Castle. I love the mysteries they solve each week. I love the logo, with the pen that slices down into the A, releasing blood, that looks more like a book cover than the opening of a TV show. What I don’t like is the unrealistic way they portray the life of a writer—the way he …
Memorable Day 2: New Beginnings, Great Extremes
On December 22, 1998, we signed the closing papers for the house we now live in. We’d built what we thought would be the house we’d grow old in down in Atlanta. But then John accepted a transfer to the DC bureau of CNN, so we left everything we’d grow accustomed to, all our friends, the church we’d been part …
“But We Have the Best Doctors in the Whole World!”
I’ve been to two funerals in the last month. I didn’t know either of the deceased. Both were family of friends of mine. Regardless, funerals cause you to consider death, and life, and I naturally thought about mine. I think most people have the same “most important days”—weddings, children’s births, etc. But I want to share some of my most …