Tag: Hope

  • Safe Pasture in Strange Places

    Safe Pasture in Strange Places

    It happened early this past summer. A small herd of elk lumbered into town, grazing and then lying down in a grassy field across the street from a fitness center. It was quite a spectacle, all the more so as elk are naturally reclusive, even shy. Picture four young bulls, with full racks of antlers,…

  • From Struggle to Strength: Finding Faith in Healing

    From Struggle to Strength: Finding Faith in Healing

    The young man was standing outside a travel stop near the interstate selling handmade wooden crafts. I recognized he was from a local drug and alcohol rehab that often sets up outside the doors. His high and tight hair cut, chiseled physique, and khaki cargo pants tucked into combat boots said he was ex military,…

  • GPS Jesus

    GPS Jesus

    For the fine citizens of Wellington, Florida enough was enough. The baby Jesus was stolen from their community center nativity two years in a row! But during the next Noel they were ready–with a creative way to catch a crook. Christmas season number three featured a baby Jesus with a GPS locator onboard. Sheriff’s deputies…

  • Advent Reflections: Peace by Piece

    Advent Reflections: Peace by Piece

    The following story is historical fiction: straight out of my imagination but inspired by actual events. During World War II, Matsuko and her family were among the many Japanese Americans forcibly interned in camps. For three years she longed to return to the farm near Salinas, California where her husband Hayato’s family had grown strawberries…

  • Advent Reflections: The Power of Hope and Love

    Advent Reflections: The Power of Hope and Love

    A favorite *story of mine that pairs well with the first Sunday of Advent is about a woman who leaves anonymous notes of encouragement throughout her city. Elizabeth, a recovering drug addict, wants to help others by spreading hope, something she once desperately searched for herself. So, she writes uplifting notes and tucks them under…

  • Taste of Faith: The Essence of Christianity

    Taste of Faith: The Essence of Christianity

    This is a bit from a commercial back in the day. Can you name the item? Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. If you answered a McDonald’s Big Mac, you’re right! Out of all the ingredients, the special sauce is what makes a Big Mac so tasty.…