Christmas is just around the corner, and Santa is everywhere - television, store-front ads, tree ornaments, and even ugly sweaters. The only place you can generally expect NOT to hear him HO-HO-HO-ing is at church. So who is this character really, and where did he...
As the end of October approaches, I’ve heard a variety of opinions on Halloween. They vary from excitement about upcoming parties to dire warnings of demonic possession. Is one right? Is the other wrong? Could both possibly be correct? Maybe history can shed...
My customers are complaining about their woodworking orders. It's not the usual stuff about quality, prices, or delivery. Ironically, the complaint comes from people I know well. Usually they come from my closest friends and family. My niece challenged me about the...
As I’ve grown older, my life seasons have changed. As the seasons have changed, so have the things that occupy my time. When I was a parent of young children, most of my time was spent watching over and teaching them. As they grew up and moved out of the house,...
When I was a kid, you could buy 40-sheet spiral notebooks on sale for a ridiculous price, like 10 for $1. We always had a stack lying around the house, mostly intended for school use. I was never a fan. The spiral rings got bent, preventing the pages from turning...
It seemed that a global conspiracy had been put into place, keeping Kim and I from taking our first international vacation. We had canceled our plans for three years in a row - first for a pandemic, then a military invasion, followed by slow tourism reopenings. We had...
My grandfather. James McAfee, was a pilot in World War II and died in the sky over Berlin, Germany in 1945. Although he was survived by two sons who each had their own kids, none of us knew him. His early death snatched away our chance to spend time with him in this...
New Year's Day found me standing in the garage, looking over a huge mess. It was the remains of a busy holiday season spent building gifts for anyone who asked. In the mad dash to deliver every order, housekeeping had clearly taken a low priority. There wasn't room...
Whenever my younger brother, Preston, gets a picture texted to him from a friend or family member, he instinctively zooms in to full magnification and looks around for strange things hidden in the background. Sometimes he finds really funny stuff. In the same way, I...
Two years have passed since the prayer garden at the Salvation Army in Lewisville was completed. If you don't know the story of its creation, there are several earlier posts you can read. I remember looking over it with pride, every detail finished. There were...
I've been watching a story lately. It is a modern take on an age-old tale. It is about a brother and sister who are young adults born into a special purpose. However while they are seeking their destinies, everyone they encounter seems to have their own plans for...
During a slow time this past Saturday, Kim and I dropped by the Walmart Superstore. It was my idea. I had shopping to do. First, I rushed to the cereal aisle and bought a Family Size box of chocolate Lucky Charms. Thinking better of it, I got two. On the way across...