An eleven-year-old Alabama boy faked his own kidnapping in order to hide a bad report card. He told his parents an armed man took him from school at gunpoint and threatened to kill him. The lad claimed he escaped by jumping out of the assailant’s car, but was unable to grab the book bag containing his report card. Eventually the boy confessed to inventing the story.

Diocletian. His name must have struck terror in the hearts of fourth-century Christians. In 303 A.D. this Roman Emperor launched a brutal assault aimed at obliterating Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Diocletian’s attack was not the first against believers, but certainly the most ruthless.

Herb Jackson served as a missionary in a developing nation for several years. His mission agency provided him a car, but after a short time, it wouldn't start. For two years, he push-started the vehicle each morning by "borrowing" some boys from the local school to give it a shove. Then he made his rounds for the day, always parking on a hill or leaving the engine running. 

Other than a paper route, my first job was digging postholes on a ranch. After day one, every muscle in my anatomy ached, and despite wearing gloves, my palms sported blisters on top of blisters.

I wonder if that’s how Christ’s disciples felt? After Jesus supernaturally fed 5000 people, they headed home across the Sea of Galilee. The gospel of Mark reports that in the midst of their voyage, his followers encountered rough waters, and were “straining at the oars”—all night long. The text states, that “shortly before dawn” they saw Jesus walking on the water, and terrified, thought he was a ghost. Makes sense. What would most folks think, seeing a being wearing a sheet, floating on a lake in a storm?

I woke up this morning thinking of Linda. One year ago today, she died. For the past week, I’ve felt as if a dark cloud was hanging over me, dreading this day. But now that it’s here, my heart overflows with joy. I miss Linda terribly, especially at night. I miss having someone to come home to, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to snuggle with. But I’m slowly healing, and life is good. 

In September of 2021, the citizens of Denton, North Carolina found themselves without electricity. The cause wasn’t a storm or a transformer malfunction. The power outage resulted from a snake that slithered into a Duke Energy substation. Somehow the reptile created an electrical connection, causing sparks to fly, starting a fire, and shutting down everyone’s power. The culprit was fried in the process. (https://www.newsweek.com/entire-town-nearly-left-without-power-after-snake-started-electrical-fire-1629986)