I want to go with you! My daughters love to go places with daddy. It doesn’t really matter where I’m going; they just like to tag along. And that makes sense. After all, daddies buy candy! There’s something comforting about being with Another Who is stronger than you and seems to know where He is going. There is something comforting in the surety, in the confidence that that sure direction brings. It…

“All you gotta do is rub that lamp!” “Mr. Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be. Let me take your order, jot it down. You ain’t never had a friend like me!” So sue me, I’m in a “Aladdin” kind of mood today! But seriously, isn’t it a wonderful fantasy to have your own personal “genie” to grant you wishes? To be able to “ask anything!” And yet, the old story of…

It was suppose to be a surprise, and it sure was. You see, I told her I couldn’t make it to her recital. Her little face fell and she was disappointed. But, at the last minute, my plans got changed and I was able to make it. You should have seen her face! Talk about lighting up a room with a smile! It’s amazing how quickly we can go from sadness to…

Sometimes what’s best for us isn’t really apparent in the middle of our journey. It’s only later we discover that an event, though difficult at the time, actually turned out to be the best thing for us. As the old country song says “They hindsight 20/20…” This coming Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto His Church. Today, we still live in the afterglow of the…

My grandfather was my hero. Growing up, he was such a strong figure in my young life that I almost thought of him as something other than a mere human. He was an Atlanta police officer and would sometimes bring his police car home and let me sit in the front seat and turn on the “blue light.” Plus, Pawpaw was a master story teller. He would captivate all his grandchildren with…

All too often we spend our lives waiting for that perfect moment when everything’s going “right” and all around me is positive and affirming. And, the longer we live, the more disillusioned we become because that “moment” seems to never come! Oh, to be sure, there are flashes of “just right” in our lives. Those moments when all the traffic lights are green when you’re in a hurry to get some place.…

Today is the Feast of the Ascension, and this Feast begs the question: What is this whole ascending from the Mount of olives all about? Why didn’t Jesus just “POOF” disappear and go to the Father’s side? Why all this theatrics? It is almost axiomatic that any truth or tradition sufficiently removed from its Source or Cause tends toward superstition and nostalgia. And given enough time and thoughtlessness, it can even become…

Christ is risen! On this Apodosis (Leavetaking) of Pascha, may God grant us faithful hearts until next Pascha! Stumbling around in the dark isn’t just a problem for me when I’m looking for a midnight snack (as if I really needed that!), but is a perfect metaphor for my life lived without the Light and wisdom of the faith to protect me from bad choices and missed opportunities in my life! As…

Christ is risen! (only a few more days for that Paschal Greeting! The Feast of the Ascension arrives Thursday!) The old saying is “timing is everything.” How true! There have been moments in my own life when the timing has been off, very frustrating. This is especially true when you have a dream or even an expectation where the timing just isn’t right. As the scripture declares “hope deferred makes the heart…

Christ is risen! Have you ever heard of the story of the donkey who saved a prophet’s life by talking to him? And you thought your dreams were strange! Seriously, this powerful story in the First Testament is worth your time! Read the whole story in Numbers 22. To make a long story short, Balaam is something of a prophet and some enemies of the Jews in the area want to hire…