LEARNING MY LINES . . .

Leave Them Alone. . . .

The media’s latest blitz, not surprisingly, is all about last Saturday’s shootings in Arizona. The fact that a young gunman killed or wounded a total of 20 people is certainly newsworthy. Add to that the fact that a federal judge…
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My Best Reads of 2010. . . .

Derek says it’s time for me to register my annual list of Top Ten Reads from the last year. It’s a difficult task to say the least. I always set out to read nothing but what I think will be…
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2010 Sucked. . . Or Did It? . . .

I’m not a big fan of the word, but I think it might be appropriate here. Over the years it’s morphed into a slang term meaning things like “stinks,” “lousy,” “repellent,” and “disgusting.” When I was recovering from my bike…
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I Resolve. . . .

I’ve probably blabbered on and on about this before. . . but I don’t really understand all the hype over celebrating the New Year. I think my worldview forces me to question why we get so excited about saying “goodbye”…
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Good, Good News! . . . .

Last summer, I spent some time blogging updates and prayer requests for a friend who had been in a horrific accident. Dr. Gary Parrett, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, was in a bus that fell off an overpass while he…
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This Is Why He Came. . .

This morning I saw a short feature on the year in pictures that was posted by the folks at The Today Show. A handful of the photos were what you might call inspiring and heartwarming. But the overwhelming majority captured…
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Christmas Retail At Its Best. . . .

Yesterday I indulged my annual pre-Christmas tradition of trekking from here in Etown down to Dallastown and the Hearts and Minds bookstore owned by my old friend Byron Borger. It’s a place I find very hard to describe. It’s a…
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Girls Behaving Badly. . . .

What they see is who they become. That little seven-word sentence just might capture the realities of adolescent identity formation in today’s world. Think about it. . . kids are looking for guidance and direction as they experience the powerful…
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With Gratitude to the Doctor. . . .

Yesterday I received word that Dr. Roger Nicole died on Saturday afternoon. I had the privilege of having Dr. Nicole as one of my theology professors at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary back in the early 1980s. He was a fascinating and…
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Dangerous. . . .

Last Friday I spent a chunk of the day sitting in the waiting room at a local doctor’s office. I had taken a family member to the gastroenterologist for a check-up that included a preventive procedure. Knowing I’d be sitting…
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