Freedom to Fail or Succeed
By the time high school arrived, I’d lost all interest in school. The wrong kind of friends, followed by the wrong type of actions, took over. My parents continued to goad me to do my best, just as they had in elementary and middle school. I didn’t listen. Regardless of their efforts to push me forward toward a college education, I continued to slide backward with a don’t-care attitude…
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Sniffing Temptation
We call our little Chihuahua-terrier mix our cordless dust buster. Wherever we happen to sit to eat, she positions herself underneath our feet so she can retrieve any dropped crumbs. She particularly enjoyed standing beneath our daughter’s middle son when my wife kept him. Pig Pen, we call him—and for obvious reasons. The way he eats causes him to leave many crumbs behind. Sometimes, whole chunks of food. But, of course, our little mutt didn’t complain. …
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Cleaning Out the Clutter
I felt all the clutter had value, and saw no purpose in this purge. I rationalized why I wanted to keep all my belongings. But my parents overruled my feeble attempts to rationalize keeping the clutter. Their end goal was…
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When God Forgets
When I was young, I had no trouble memorizing—anything, or a lot of things. Even in my twenties—while in college with a professor we called the “grocery list” professor because of the long list of items he made us memorize for tests—I sailed through the class with no problem, earning an A with ease. …
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Charles E. Maldon, Jr.: The Reflection
“What if I looked like this all the time?” Rich said, joking.
“I would still love you,” Carol said. …
Martin Wiles: Down to Pennies
Finally, when his turn came, he twisted sideways, slid a Ziploc bag from his pocket, and dumped the contents on the hard counter. I heard the coins clang against the hard surface and heard them again as he scraped them two-by-two toward the cashier—all two hundred pennies and two dimes. …
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Martin Wiles: Love Shows Mercy
Of all days for Dad to search for Mom’s dress, he chose Saturday. The only day I had to do nothing…
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Evelyn Mason Wells: Lessons from the Source
Careful tweaking of my budget caused me to be creative. As I learned to cut corners, I hung onto God’s promise of provision. My faith grew as, over and over again, God provided everything we needed. …
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Christy Bass Adams: Losing Granny
Sure enough, the sharp quilting needle stuck my ten-year-old finger. After that, by some grand miracle, the thimble suddenly fit and my granny smirked to herself. …
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Martin Wiles: Watch the Talk
While initially shocking, the question gave Meme and Pop an ideal scenario to discuss what words we should and should not use and why. The question also allowed us to discuss sin and how it affects our actions, attitudes, and words. And we didn’t have to bring the subject up. We merely used a normal conversation and turned it into a teachable moment. …
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Martin Wiles: Tend the World
With his first badge under his belt, I looked for other things I could help him do. I came across planting a tree. I had watched a potted mimosa and crepe myrtle tree that lounged on our back patio for several months. They needed planting. …
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