(Image by Silvia from Pixabay.) It’s easy to feel unease about money. Just look at your bills. Glance at prices.  Let your mind drift as you look at the inflation numbers and the projection: “Do we have enough?” “How will we pay if….” “What if things get worse?” It’s easy to find your eyes open at night when you can’t sleep. Another day is about to start and you need to rest. But the future seems uncertain and you wonder how to cope. The people of Germany could relate. Frederick Taylor explains in his book The Fall of Money. Back in 1914, the exchange rate was 4.1 Ger ..read more

(Image by NoName_13 from Pixabay.) Donna never told anyone about the fear. She would enter a store or gas station and immediately look for cover. What if gunfire started? She thought. Where can I jump or hide? It was an embarrassment when her children would go with her. Donna was small and thin with straight blond hair. But she was also a former cheerleader and was used to tumbling, rolls, and even dives in mid air.  One morning she shoved her son into a display of cornbread dressing when someone popped a balloon at a grocery store. She also threw a big-gulp drink again ..read more

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.) Lennie is a good guy. He works hard as an accountant and comes from a good family. He tried hard in school, goes to church every Sunday and married a nice lady named Jen. They have two children and try to bring them up right. Outsiders would say they are doing the right “things”. And to a large extent, that’s true. Lennie cares deeply for his family. He loves his community and votes in every election. He even coached soccer when his son was small. In Lennie’s mind, they’re on track. What more could anyone ask or expect? Lennie spends his ..read more

(Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay.) “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has done bountifully with you.” P. 116:7 I was like many Ameicans who pull up the “news” every day and then wince at all the bad that filled my screen. Videos would show the latest corruption and investigation, social unrest and killing spree. Then three words from the newscaster would hit me like a punch:  “This just in….” It left me with an ache in my gut and the feeling of dread. So I unplugged and spent a week with no news or Youtube videos. That left only the weather or work-related ..read more

(Image by David Mark from Pixabay.) Isaac Cline was supposed to know better. He was the head weather guy in Galveston, Texas when a bad storm approached back in 1900. Eric Larson explains it in his book Isaac’s Storm. Back then weather predicting was primitive. The Cubans were better at it, but the Americans accused Cuban officials of “inciting panic” when they used the word “hurricane”. The Cuban weather team saw a major storm heading their way. They forecast the damage and were right in their estimates as the hurricane churned over their island. But they also projected the ..read more

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.) Imagine a walk in the worst part of the city. You have on your nicest clothes. They’re new. Spotless. You’re clean. You feel good. But as you walk–you look over at a sewer and there’s a person climbing out. They’re covered in actual sewage. You can smell it. You want to run fast in the opposite direction, but you see the pain in their eyes and feel the hopeless that they feel. They stink. Raw sewage covers their entire body. It’s not too late, you tell yourself. I can leave now and stay clean. But you see a hose coiled behind an old bu ..read more

(Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay.) “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 Ever find yourself in a toxic work setting? Years ago, there was a “B-Rate” movie called “Take This Job and Shove It”. I was in college when it came out--but decided to take a look one night. The odd part was the crowd. Men filled the theater. Some actually sang along when the music started and the background lyrics put the title in a tune “Take this job and shove it. I ain’t working here no more…” Something about that story must ..read more

(Image by bobbycrim from Pixabay.) "And He said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?'” Mark 4:40 (NASB)   Some storms hit without warning. Some can even overwhelm your best efforts. That happened to the disciples in the New Testament.   In the eighth chapter of Luke, Jesus got in a boat with his 12 closest followers “to go to the other side”. Then a bad storm came up.    This was on the Sea of Galilee where conditions can change fast from the wind. In this trip, waves crashed over the bow and they took on water. Jesus was asleep on ..read more

(Image by Anja from Pixabay.) Do you like horror movies? Like to be scared? Imagine being in one and you can’t get out. That is how the Bible describes the outcome for people who make the wrong choice about God. It’s the most important decision that you will ever face. In Pro. 10:24 it says “What the wicked fears will come upon him, and the desire of the righteous will be granted”. That was the New American Standard version. The Message version makes it easy to understand: “The nightmares of the wicked come true; what the good people desire, they get.” These are general gui ..read more

(Image by Đỗ Thiệp from Pixabay.) ​“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14 NASB           Right before the Titanic left the docks, a film crew went aboard. They filmed the captain as he walked around and looked over the rail as if on an official pre-trip inspection.                 They showed young ladies in long dresses, slim waists and hats like ..read more