There is a very interesting story in the Bible in the book of Hosea. Hosea was a prophet and God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. God was going to use Hosea as a living demonstration of His own love and patience for a nation that continually turned their back on Him. Israel was God’s chosen people – his bride. Yet the people of Israel were cheating on God by constantly returning to the pleasures of the world. Hosea not only had to marry a prostitute named Gomer – but he would be called to literally buy her back when she cheated on him yet again. “The Lord said to…

A friend shared a ‘magic’ card trick video with me today. On a table were six royal cards. A pair of Kings, a pair of Queens, and a pair of Jacks. The narrator said, “Focus on one of these six cards, really fix it in your mind. I will try to guess your card.” I dutifully focused on the King of Clubs and waited for the ‘magic.’ The video pans away for a moment and when the camera returned to the cards, the King of Clubs was gone. Hmmm. Now, the video wasn’t being done live, so how would the narrator guess my card and that of others? My friend…

I have always loved the story of the little boy and the starfish but as a certified marine docent I would be remiss if I didn’t share that starfish are now known as sea stars. In the story, a little boy is walking along a stretch of beach, and he sees all these stranded starfish. If they remain on the sand, they will dry up and die. The little boy picks one up and throws it into the ocean. An older man walks by and tells the little boy, “There are hundreds of starfish here young man! You won’t make a difference.”  The little boy proceeds to bend down, picks…

Have you ever had a moment in your life when everything turned to complete crap?  You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everybody’s version of crap is different of course. If you are reading this and your life has taken a right turn towards Crapville, let me please say, I am so sorry you’re going through this. It hurts, it sucks, and it’s probably not fair. I thought about this as I was reading a story in the bible. It made me pause and think carefully about those crappy moments.  This story happens when the mob has come to arrest Jesus before he is to be crucified.  A…