Aug 20, 2026
The homeless man got in Tom’s face. Threats shot through his red whiskers like poison from a cobra. “I told you to leave!” the man shouted. People in the gazebo turned around. Part of me wished we’d never left the conference. Two hours earlier, we sat in our...
Aug 6, 2026
There’s a scene in the movie We Bought a Zoo that I love! A dad, played by Matt Damon, asks his son how things are going with his girlfriend. When the son shares some struggles, the dad smiles and says, “You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane...
Jul 23, 2026
At the top of a cliff overlooking Shipwreck Beach, there’s a sign. It reads, “Warning: Diving or jumping may lead to serious injury or death.” There’s a reason for that sign. People die there. After climbing the jagged rocks of what looks like some foreboding...
May 28, 2026
My friend Abbas is from Nigeria. He’s one of those guys whose smile and laughter are infectious. His eyes squint as he smiles, and his laughter booms in a deep belly laugh, breathing life into any group he’s with. He was the pastor of our church when we lived in...
Apr 30, 2026
When Carlos offered me a smoke from his makeshift pipe, I said no. The boys laughed as he lifted the pipe toward me, and their laughter was dark, like the shadow of the tree they were under. There was no way he’d come to the teen events later that week, even if he...