Trust vs. faith

I've been thinking about what I mean when I say that I trust God. My money says "In God we trust," which I think is intended as a moral lesson teaching that money shouldn't be foundation of life. I'm not sure how effective the message is. When I say that I trust in God, or I have put my trust in ... Continue reading

Finding joy

“It is hard to talk about joy. … When my leg hurts I can talk about it. I have a lot of words to describe how much it hurts. When it doesn’t hurt I don’t think about it. When I am well I don’t talk about it. My language is limited. My language is much more elaborate for anxiety than for joy.” – ... Continue reading

I don’t just believe; I know

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. “And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!” — Job 19:25-27 (NIV)I know. I am convinced. I ... Continue reading

The truth about Superman’s phonebooth

Phone booths have all but vanished from the American landscape, to the delight of the myriad faceless number crunchers who toil at Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. It's bad enough that the extinction of the public telephone has created so much hardship for cellphoneless citizens like myself, ... Continue reading

A heart like His

Even if you've never darkened the door of a Sunday school class in your life, you will have grown up with a culturally-formed understanding of the biblical allusion to David and Goliath; every kid with a slingshot in his back pocket is confident he can slay any foe. In sports, politics, or whenever ... Continue reading

Anything: Yielding to an unsafe God

"Then Aslan isn't safe?" asked Lucy."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." — The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis What might happen if I put my career, my ... Continue reading

Brake repair Odyssey

You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first... you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. ... And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your ... Continue reading

Going all in

If you fly with any regularity, even if you aren't a pilot, you know the routines that every flight follows. The plane is pushed out from the gate. The pilots start the engines. The aircraft lumbers slowly down the taxiway behind a long line of other flights, all waiting their turn on the main ... Continue reading