A friend shared this with me after seeing my last post. I must admit it's gratifying to get confirmation from someone I deeply respect. Overwhelmed by Joni Eareckson Tada "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I Corinthians 10:13 "Oh Joni, isn't it wonderful that God will never test u

I posted a while back concerning the adage, "God will never give us more than we can handle." You may recall I disagree with that. Well, I've been reminded of it recently, and there are just a couple thoughts I'd like to add. I believe there's a John Wayne/Clint Eastwood (Does a contemporary equivalent even exist? The Donald, maybe??) spirit that says, "I love a man who bites off more than he can chew -- and then chews it." We naturally tend to admire the guy who, in true, Fr

Encouragement for those who know Jesus as Savior (do you know Him truly as Shepherd, as well?): "If we could see what He sees, if we could see ourselves arriving WITH Him and IN HIM at the destination of eternity, then our fears would certainly be allayed. No, we cannot see what He sees. But I'll tell you what we can do: WE CAN HEAR WHAT HE SAYS. And, in spite of all the tragedy and suffering which His omniscient eye detects as coming into our life in the days ahead, He s

"He [God] was here before there WAS any fear, and He will be here when all fear has long passed away. Let us remember that He saw EVERYTHING before there was ANYTHING. If we could stand at His side today and see what He sees, how baseless would be our fears and how excuseless so many of our tears. But we cannot see as He sees, nor can we see WHAT He sees. Our vision of the future does not extend beyond our faces so far as certainty is concerned. We live in the mixed a

Funny to think what a big part of my life playing music once was. Enter (more than) full-time ministry and raising a family, and the music naturally went by the wayside as I occupied myself with more enduring things. But I found I really didn't mind, especially when God gave me a much better musician. I knew enough to know he showed he had a natural ear at age four. Came home from church and plinked out the melody from "The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" perfectly on piano h

Elie Wiesel is a wise Jewish man in the secular sense. He is not a believer in Christ. His words here, while insightful and worthy of contemplation, should be considered through that grid (I hold that the arguments FOR faith are the more powerful; contrary to his words at the end of Melanie's post). https://thelifeididntchoose.com/2018/01/21/no-heart-is-as-whole-as-a-broken-heart/

John Lennon was on to something when he sang, "All You Need is Love." Tragically, he had no clue how to actually pull that off, since he rejected the one and only Source of the deepest, truest, most enduring LOVE known among men, Jesus Christ (John 13:34-35; 15:4-5; Romans 5:5-10; I John 4:7-19; I Corinthians 13:1-8). https://thelifeididntchoose.com/2018/01/22/seriously-folks-pass-it-on/

Although this month is LEVI'S 21st birthday, let me make it clear to everyone this is NOT Levi and me. Neither is it my grandson, Elliot (which it kinda looks like!). This happens to be my very favorite pic of ABEL and me. Yes, I really do like the idea of using a more recent one, but I just can't get him to play with my beard in the same old adorable manner anymore (kids!).

I would like to sincerely thank all of you who have shared my posts. I always feel quite honored by that (and by the very kind things some of you say to introduce your "share"!). I see, though, that some of you have come under fire. I've gone to your pages and seen some pretty strong negative comments, including some ad hominem attacks (old debate ploy: undermine the credibility of a statement by casting aspersions on the man who says it; in this case, me!). So, I just wanted

"The worst thing you can do in life is underestimate your adversary" -- William Jefferson Clinton We have an adversary. An ancient, invisible, supernatural, brilliant beyond brilliant, wickedly cunning, savagely cruel adversary. And what is he known for almost above all else? HE LIES. In fact, he's the "father" of it (John 8:44). I started to write that Satan is, like, "the Muhammad Ali" of lying (the all-time champ; the best there ever was in the game), but that's n