Author: Stan Escott

Can’t Stop Singing

  By ,

One is never ready for the feeling that, with the death of your loved one, love has gone out of your life. Even a five-year advance notice in a terminal illness does nothing to assuage the pain of loss. In grief, breathing remains labored and tears sneak up without warning. It is a grinding that no amount of support seems to lessen.

But, where had happiness gone? Why was it so hard to be in the moment, just to smile, to laugh, to share stories with friends? There was an emptiness that continued month after month, relentlessly, sad and without color. The memory of her remains, much like the perfume of flowers that lingers long after the flowers are gone and then, over time: Continue reading

Moment by Moment

  By

This is the day the Lord made and I’m glad. Sure enough, just look at the sky! Oh, my goodness – Carolina-blue broken up with little puffs of white, lookin’ all the world like a Colorado mountain top. It must be close to 70° out, and the breeze, perfumed by fresh-cut grass, is heaven scented, make that Heaven-sent.

I drive slowly out into the country with the windows down, taking all this in, lovin’ every minute of it, just to retrieve a bag of the best lettuce in the county. It’s an errand into the blessings of the Lord. Yes, what a day! This really is the day that the Lord has made. I certainly am rejoicin’ and my lil’ ole heart is feelin’ real glad-like. Continue reading

Are You a Storyteller?

  By ,

Are you a storyteller?

My good friend, Mac, has been a storyteller all his life.  He has used that talent to communicate humor and interesting ideas, all with a moral, all with a lesson to be learned.  Mac has for many years, journeyed, on a weekly basis, to the children’s cancer ward of Lutheran Hospital where he shares his stories and amazes the children with his magic acts.  He has shared his talent from the pulpit as a lay minister and has given the children’s message with his stories.  His is a talent we admire. Continue reading

You Just Never Know!

  By

It was 1955. I was a twenty-year-old kid in an Army uniform, on a flight from Denver to San Diego, on my way to my home-base, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. My assigned seat was next to an older gentleman, who introduced himself as “Jack” and immediately commented on my Army service and asked about my deployment. When I explained that my Division had just rotated from Korea to Hawaii, that started a longer conversation which lasted almost throughout the entire flight.

He talked about his service in the Canadian military during WW II, and the fact that he was a medical engineer of some kind. I shared that I was looking forward to returning to college upon my discharge, to study geophysical engineering.  Throughout most of the flight we talked about all manner of things, most of which has now slipped right out of my mind. But something happened midway through our time together that I recall today. Continue reading

Abortion, Gay Marriage, and Guns… Oh, My!

  By ,

Yikes.  Why would I even think about tackling those topics?  At my age and stage, I ain’t afraid of nuttin’!  But I have no answers, just partially formed ideas, not big and not especially small. Ideas that are natural extensions of my faith, and maybe my dated thinking.

God set before us certain standards of living, you know the “Love your neighbor as yourself” or as Jesus instructed us:  “Love your neighbor as I have loved you” — a much higher standard.  Directly or indirectly, He set before us free choice.  We can decide. Which destination do we want to move toward?  So how do the “Big Three”, you know abortion, gay marriage and guns, fit into that thinking?  Let’s see. Continue reading

Making the Team

  By , ,

In high school I learned that I made the basketball team!  I had worked hard and had made it!  As the first game of the season approached, I was thrilled to know that I would start!  A couple of errant passes, a missed layup and a foul, and  I found myself on the bench.  Crushed!

While in college, I had aspirations of becoming an actor.  I auditioned for a part in Shakespeare”s Twelfth Night and was cast in the role of Sebastian, one of the male leads.  A few years later, in another city, I auditioned with the local Civic Theater for a role in Bus Stop, and was cast in in the role of Beauregard ‘Bo Decker, the male lead. My “aspirations” were encouraged. Continue reading

Stanley B

  By ,

As a child growing up in a neighborhood filled with children, where I was one of the youngest and the smallest, I came to have strong negative feelings about my name, Stanley. The bully-boys in the neighborhood would always say it in a whiny tone, Stannnnleee, oh little stannnnnleee. I hated that, oh I did not like that at all. Why could I not have a name like Bill, or Tom, or even Joe, you know, something strong. But, no, I was Stanley.

The only thing worse than Stanley was George, the other small boy in our neighborhood. George and I became fast friends. For the bullies, it was always Georgie-porgie. He didn’t like his name either, but, what was even worse for him, he was George Junior. We both knew that if that got out he would be “Junior” and that would have scarred him for life.

Continue reading

Writing Barabbas

  By ,

In a matter of hours, the notorious prisoner, Barabbas, is to be crucified. He is angry and frightened. He regrets the kind of life he lived and grieves that he will never be able to make things right. Suddenly, he is a free man, pardoned by Pilate. Within hours, he finds himself on Calvary, where he has an encounter with the crucified Jesus. This brings him face to face with his own violent past, and he begins his search for redemption.

 

That is a passage from my book, A Life for Barabbas. I am excited to share that it will be in bookstores on October 30! Continue reading

Kismet: Two Life Stories

  By ,

Coincidence. Chance. Accident. Serendipity. Luck. Miracle. A God-thing. We have so many ways of explaining away things that we may not quite understand. Maybe it is kismet, that is fate or destiny, or perhaps a higher power that controls what happens over time, in the future.  You may hear about these moments in the lives of others but when they happen within the span of your life it may give you pause.  My father had one of those moments in the span of his life, and most recently that serendipity moment occurred with me. Chance?  Accident?  A God-thing? You decide. Continue reading

Two Little Boys, Two Kitchen Matches – What Could Go Wrong?

  By ,

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day. The hollow behind our church and down the trail, was ablaze with brilliant colors: Reds and oranges and yellows.

I had followed the trail down to the creek below, but always with my father or one of my sisters. This time, it was just my friend George and I, poised at the top of the trail. Both of us were eight years old and had been told never to go down the trail alone. But we weren’t alone, we had each other, and the trail, under the canopy of all those pretty leaves, was calling us. Continue reading

A Man’s Reach Should Exceed His Grasp

  By , ,

Chicago. A week before Christmas, some years ago. It is cold!  Snow on the streets and sidewalks.

Then, I heard the voice of God say to me:  “Help him!”  I looked, there was no one there.  Then I heard the Voice again, saying “Help him!”, and I looked again and that is when I saw, lying in the middle of Clark St., an elderly man, unable to rise. Cars were driving around him.  So I acted, I helped, and the act became a focus point of my thoughts the remainder of that night and the next day. Continue reading

Moments of Beauty

  By ,

You are on a solitary hike in the mountains.  It’s an early day in spring, it is warm, the sky is deep blue and wild flowers are everywhere.  In short, it is a perfect day and you alone are there to witness this bit of God’s handiwork.  There should be a crowd, a huge crowd, the largest in the world to see this and feel the beauty of the day. But it is just you, and you sit and soak up the perfect scene, and you thank God. Continue reading