My only question is... Fellas... Did y’all leave my gifts at home?

When dry and cold seasons come, deciduous things adapt by changing.

Evergreens steadily grow new leaves and shed old ones—no matter what the season. They are the tortoises of the tree world... not too fast, but faithful to the finish line.

In this world of insta-everything and drive-thrus, I am challenged by a quote from a doctor friend: “It's not a matter of getting there tomorrow. It's a matter of getting there.”

Tommy Emmanuel. Dude got skills.

Here I sit at the kitchen counter wondering how many times God, in his goodness and mercy, has followed me as I try to follow Him.

She got her Master Gardener certificate last year. She astounds me with her knowledge of plants and flowers.  I love that I know how much she adores hydrangeas. . .

I was pushing my cart toward checkout, and I passed a guy dressed very nicely with a dozen red roses and a big balloon in his cart. He took one look at me, glanced down at the hydrangeas in my cart, and mockingly smiled at me as if to say, “You’re an idiot. It’s Mother’s Day. Your wife wants roses—not those plain white bushy flowers in your basket.”

Sir, don’t judge. This is what I would have said to you if we’d had time to chat this morning...

That got me wondering. . . Would Jesus have used PowerPoint if He was teaching in our day? 

We live in such a video-saturated culture. It’s a proven fact (multiple studies) that people learn information best in video format nowadays. So when Jesus was communicating, He was speaking truth in parables, because in that culture (like ours) stories have stickiness. Stories today—while always powerful in any format—are best “heard” today when told in video format.

That got me thinking. . . When’s the last time God took a day off? Is it possible that his last day off was the “day” after He created the world? Now this was either about 14.3 billion or 5,700 years ago—depending on your view of things. Either way, that’s a lot of time since His last vacation.

I need more running water in my life.

Room at the Inn... the name, itself, is a reminder that you have something in common with Jesus. In fact, in this season of your life right now, you may have more in common with Jesus than those serving you! As a baby, he had no room in which to sleep. As an adult, he said, “... the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20).

A group of three high school friends were riding around in a Jeep in Charlotte in the mid-80's. The driver had forgotten to do something really important and was trying to figure out a solution. He came up with a brainstorm, made a sudden U-turn and exclaimed to his two friends. . .

To this, his northern-born cousin responded, "So you're coffeenauts." My immediate unspoken reaction was, "Now there's a term I haven't heard before." I began to try to figure out what he meant by that. Then I remembered that my friend told me his cousin was from New Jersey.

The thought popped up that you cannot tell sailor stories unless you've been out to sea. The bartenders and people at the ports get to hear the stories, but they don't have the experiences.

“Dad, did you know that a fly throws up everywhere it lands?”

There are certain kinds of bugs that just freak me out. One of them is the Scutigera coleoptrata, known to laypeople as the “house centipede.” I am adding this to my list of animals that came after the Fall in Genesis 3.

Then a very nice woman in a yellow shirt started making the rounds to all the groups of people in the waiting room.. When she got to us she said her name and that she was a “Patient Representative.” The irony was thick enough to cut at this point. I wanted to ask her, “How patient?” but I didn’t.

You cannot plant wild flowers.

I absolutely believe in angels. I believe at least one is hovering over me as I type right now. But even more than angels, I believe in the One the angels bow down to.