When I think about how brutal the blustery weather of early March can be this time of year, it reminds me of my own male testosterone issues. I, like most men, have moments of anger and impulsiveness. I never had a desire to be a mild mannered, quiet guy. My genetic makeup drove me to be an objective person with passion, ambition and more than my share of ego. Yes, an aggressive, abrasive, stick your foot in your mouth, extrovert….
A number of years ago Tracy was reading one of A. W. Tozier’s books and came upon a concept she conveyed to me. It went something like this. At some point we must consider an extraordinary event that happens at the time of salvation — the inhabitation of our body by a spirit. Most people tend to get queasy when they think about spirits hanging around, playing with their minds, manipulating them, and especially inhabiting their bodies. After all, it…
When I was a child, one of our last family outings of the summer was Labor Day. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and anyone else we could think of would head for the beach or the lake for the last big picnic of the summer. The year I turned five we went to the lake. I can remember my mom telling me not to go too far out because there were drop-offs and I could drown. Well needless to say…
When my dad got orders to Alaska, at age 12, I knew my lawn mowing and landscaping days were over. I worried about how I was going to earn my spending money. Fortunately within the first month of school I met a fellow whose dad was being transferred who had a paper route. I jumped on it right away. Unfortunately, he only had two weeks before he was leaving and the paper was only published once a week. For the…
During my years as a professional speaker there came a day when I was booked on the same agenda in Washington D.C. with the Vice President of our country. This was extremely exciting for me because he espoused the same faith and principles of family that had become of prominent importance to me. Providentially, there were several months between the confirmation and the event. It helped take some of the edge off of my anxiety about presenting myself properly in…
I never really got to know my brother very well, because he was over five years older than me. While I looked up to him as an older brother, I did not share very many of his hobbies or interests. I never really understood his fascination with reptiles, especially poisonous snakes. When he worked as an assistant in a serpentarium, I cringed every time I thought feeding, milking and caring for vipers. I never envied the position! However, he was…