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Approaching Oz

belief3 days ago61Views 0Likes 0Comments

The lady was in her 90s, seated by a window with a spectacular view of the golf course landscaping outside. She had been an artist, and her oil paintings decorated many of the walls around us. Her condo was not elaborate but tastefully decorated. I guess that’s what you’d expect from an artist. “I didn’t…

The First Person You Meet in Heaven

belief3 days ago16Views 0Likes 0Comments

A friend reposted a question on her Facebook page from John Tesh’s radio show. The puffy-haired spokesman, best known for his stint on Entertainment Tonight, asked: “When you get to heaven, who are you going to look for first?” The answers were probably what you’d expect. There were about 100 “mommas” Lots of deceased spouses. …

Turkey Bacon is of the Devil

belief3 days ago20Views 0Likes 0Comments

Turkey bacon is a lie of the devil. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But for a big guy who loves to eat, something about it just seems deceptive. And we all know Satan is the father of all lies, right? I mean, it looks like real bacon, it even smells like real bacon a…

HOW TOUGH COULD IT BE?

beliefJune 21, 202423Views 0Likes 0Comments

So…if a government agency took your child away, what would you do? “Well,” you say, “that would never happen to us.” But what if someone made an allegation of abuse or neglect toward you? Then they could take your kids. “But no one would ever do that to people like us,” you say. And you…

The Kids on the Second Floor

beliefJune 19, 202442Views 0Likes 0Comments

We’ve all heard the saying “Evil thrives when good people do nothing”. But that’s not quite accurate. Evil’s best friends are those who do just enough to “look good”. And that’s a good description of our current foster care system. For evidence, look to the 2020 report from the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for…

What if God is protecting you?

beliefJune 18, 202427Views 0Likes 0Comments

We Christians can play strange games with the will of God. Sometimes we rationalize the unfathomable workings of God, and water Him down into simplistic strategies we are capable of understanding. For instance, right now we are fighting to get our 8 year-old foster son back so we can complete our adoption of him. As…

Happily Unhappy

beliefJune 18, 202458Views 0Likes 0Comments

To be honest, I’m not really happy right now. But don't worry, I’m actually pretty happy about that... We have a foster son who we’ve decided to adopt. We love him, but he is awful. In the gene pool is a delightful cocktail of bipolar and schizophrenic tendencies. On top of that, he has trauma…

WHY IS THIS CHILD’S FACE HIDDEN?

beliefJune 10, 202445Views 0Likes 0Comments

Because he was removed from our home simply for causing too much trouble for local case workers. If you try too hard to help a foster child, watch out. They may just make your child disappear. We moved 8 year-old foster son to Tennessee with us last June of 2024. We were in the process…

(don’t) BE CAREFUL

beliefApril 16, 20249Views 0Likes 0Comments

Be very careful. Not careful about taking risks. You never accomplish anything of value without a healthy risk involved. Instead, be careful about being too careful. That was pretty confusing, right? Let’s start again… You really need to take care about being careful. “Careful” could be exactly how you miss out on the best…

The Power of a Choir

beliefMarch 21, 202414Views 0Likes 0Comments

Have you noticed what they do on TV awards shows when they want to really sell a song? What do they do to put their big inspirational numbers over the top? They bring out a choir, usually in traditional robes, singing strong and loud behind the soloist. Yes, that’s what I said… a choir. You…

Reading Your Mail

beliefMarch 7, 20249Views 0Likes 0Comments

It’s painful watching someone self-destructing on your computer screen. From the posts people make on social media, you can feel like you’re reading their mail. They’ve just been through something tough - loss of a job, a relationship - some major wounding. And now come the self-defense posting… “If someone leaves you, they were never…

Talent’s Not Enough

worshipFebruary 21, 202412Views 0Likes 0Comments

I invited a non-Christian friend of mine, who had rarely if ever been to a church, to my Sunday service once. After the service, I asked him how he liked it. I’ll never forget his response. “Here’s my ‘review’ of this morning: I liked the sermon ok, but I really enjoyed the ‘warm-up act’ before…