Holly Strother proves that His strength is perfect In 1983, my wife Donya and I welcomed our second of three daughters into the world. We also officially became the parents of a disabled child. What we didn’t know, but would spend the next twenty-plus years learning, is that we had also become the parents of…
Category: Blog
The Greybeard Chronicles: Yesterday, When I was King— or, There is No Time Like the Present
It is the habit—and the prerogative—of those of us with silver in our hair to reminisce, to rubberneck, to relish (and embellish) past heroics. I have not pastored a church since 1997. I have not suited up for a game of organized football since 1979. The further I get from the things I “used to”…
God Bless the Lesser Lights: The Undistinguished, Unextinguished.
Lesser Lights | An Original Poem God bless the lesser lights: Those lives lived on a small scale; Those names that never lit a neon sign, Nor graced a magazine cover, But are forever etched in stone In mostly-neglected, weed-strewn tombstone; Whose memory is faded, even to those that loved them. Their time…
The GreyBeard Chronicles: “Do I Disappoint You, God?”
I was speaking with a Christian friend yesterday. She said, “I think I am such a disappointment to God.” To this, I replied, “No, you are not.” It is, I believe, impossible to disappoint God. We may displease Him, but we cannot disappoint Him. Disappointment is born of unfulfilled expectations. We anticipate a certain day…
What Do You Do When the Life has Gone Out of the Life of the Party?
Susanna Kim of ABC News has written a sad, sorry story about former NFL sensation Terrell Owens. Terrell Owens was despised by almost every fan of every team on which he did not play and by many on the teams on which he did. He was seen as selfish, self-centered, a Prima Donna. In…
The Greybeard Chronicles, Thanksgiving 2011: I Have Never Journeyed Alone
Dateline: Mobile, Alabama, Thanksgiving Day, 2011 And so it was in my fiftieth year, I spent my very first Thanksgiving Day alone. Some of my fondest memories, both from childhood and adulthood, center on this day. The sweetest people I have ever known, the finest food I have ever eaten, the best football I have…
9/11: One Moment, Please
One silent moment A thing so small To offer those Whose loss was all. One wordless prayer One teary eye One more bowed knee One last goodbye One vow that we Whose hearts beat still Have not forgot And never will One still, small voice Says, Do not fear I feel your pain And silence,…
The Sons of Lady Liberty
See, Freedom Fighter Your strength ignitor There is no one else beside her See her torch against the sky She for whom you fight and die See her grace and majesty She will keep you brave and free She beckons masses ‘neath her wing She teaches foreign tongues to sing O beautiful for spacious sky…
To All the Girls I’ve Loved: Reflections of The World’s Luckiest Dad
To Ashley: Your birth did more than make me a dad: It made me a man. For the first time in my life, I had another human totally dependent on me. For Mom and me, your birth was the first great, defining moment of our life together. You were our joy and our pride…
11 New Year’s Resolutions for 2011
Another fresh new year is here . . . Another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, To love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me To live each day with zest . . . To daily grow and try to be My highest and my best!…