Category: My Story

Are You a Storyteller?

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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!

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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

Making the Team

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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

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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.

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Writing Barabbas

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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

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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?

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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

Moments of Beauty

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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

Love

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Wouldn’t you agree that the most common theme at this sacred time of year is love. Love in all its forms, settings, worship, family. Love. A gift, a grace, a blessing, a joy.

We love our husband or wife, or that special person in our life. We love our children, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren, and all our family, extended beyond blood. We love our animals, sunsets, oceans, reunions, lakes, mountains, and dreams. I love to write, to read, to travel, to love. You, too, have loves of your own. We are created to love, you and me. Continue reading

God’s Inspiration

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Morning?  Evening? Or maybe, you find time in the middle of the day to spend with God, when you meditate and pray.  Or maybe, you’re like me who finds that time, most of the time, except when my day is so filled that…  But wait, I seem to recall Martin Luther saying when his schedule was so very busy, he doubled his time with God.

Well, I’m no Martin Luther!  Nor did I set out to write a confessional essay, about how undisciplined I am in my time with God. In fact, I wanted to write about daily devotionals and those times when God and my better angels speak. Continue reading

To a Cancer Survivor

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A letter to a cancer survivor from one just diagnosed with lung cancer, June, 2014.

Hope you had a great time camping with the kids.  I know they look forward to those trips and time away from the daily routine is important.  Especially after all that you have been through.

I wanted to tell you about a recent experience I had. Very early one morning, after I finished my morning readings, I was recalling the words that Dr. Smith had said to me just two days before.  He told me I had lung cancer and it was advanced and “hot” and he would need to operate soon!  My wife, Joanne, and I were shocked!  I immediately thought about the worse that could happen.  The doctor detailed what the surgery would mean and the length of recovery.  We left that consultation feeling dazed and numb. Continue reading