The fisherman’s lie. There’s the well-known tale of the fisherman who comes back with a story of his great catch. He opens his arms to show how long the fish was – yet even as he is speaking, he is moving his arms further and further apart. The size of the fish grows with the telling of the tale. Why does a fisherman exaggerate the size of the fish in his telling? Is it because … Read more
More than one way to be pro-life. The recent passing of the Reproductive Health Act by the New York State Legislature has served as a chilling wake up call to many Christians. The passing of this Act removed a long-standing ban on abortion after twenty-four weeks, effectively making it possible for a full-term abortion of any child if sanctioned by a healthcare professional. New York joined eight other states that provide no legal protection for … Read more
Every Man has a Battle. Every one of us faces difficulties and trials. Our natural inclination is to figure out what we can do about them. There’s a story in the Bible that gives guidelines for responding when an enemy appears to be conquering. Jehoshaphat became king of Judah when he was twenty-five and reigned for thirty-five years. During that reign, enemy armies came to battle against Jehoshaphat and his people. You can read the entire … Read more
About Forgetting I got married and moved to Ohio last summer. Thanks to the jumble of new things to memorize, I’ve forgotten plenty of semi-important things in recent months – where Walmart is, the last digit of my Social Security number, how to make popcorn, my name. We never really plan to forget things. We just do. Names and dates go floating out of our heads, never to be seen again. Hurts and disappointments cling … Read more
A Place in Germany – then Denmark. Ruth Reimer was seven when her Mennonite family fled Germany and arrived in Denmark as refugees of war. For three and a half years, she, her mother, and siblings were moved from one refugee camp to another – a total of five in all. During some of those years, they did not know if Pappa was alive. The possibility that he survived the war was slim, for Pappa … Read more