Shame on Mary

December 21, 2018

Two years ago I ventured down a reflective pathway as I thought about the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus… Before the miracles, gossip. Before the cross, whispers. Before an empty tomb, rumors. Before the swaddling clothes, a pregnant, unmarried teenager. Before glorious praise, scandal. Before Magi worship, neighborhood humiliation. Before confidence, doubt. “Do […]

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What Child Is This?

December 14, 2018

The words and the tune floated through the air at the Christmas program that Malia, our eleven-year-old granddaughter participated in. Malia’s fingers moved confidently across the white and black piano keys, and her voice pounced securely on every word and note. Malia’s practice, preparation and courage had positioned her on the bench that faced the […]

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75216

November 30, 2018

A zip code. A community on the south side of Dallas. For our Youth For Christ mission… a calling. In the words of an employee in the local juvenile detention facility… 75216 is a “cradle to prison pipeline” for young people in the neighborhood. Predictable. Gut-wrenchingly predictable. 92.5% of the students in 75216 are eligible […]

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A Rolling Stop?

November 16, 2018

Littered throughout my neighborhood are stop signs. In fact, just about 100 feet north of my driveway is one, and a quarter of a mile south, another that I have traversed hundreds of times over the last 13 years. While I understand that the octagonal sign says STOP, seldom do I feel compelled to do […]

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In Captivity to be Set Free

November 9, 2018

As the temperature drops in Colorado so does the obvious food supply for the variety of birds that call our neighborhood their home. So, before Mary hangs her wintertime bird feeder, she wanted to reduce, if not eliminate any potential competition. That means a live animal trap on our deck. And yes, within hours, our […]

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No Shortcuts

November 2, 2018

On October 22nd I held Mack William Horst in my arms for the first time. He was hours old and beautiful. All 10 pounds and 3 ounces of him. My grandson. As I held him, I stared, and as I stared, I marveled at the magnanimous gift of life. Mack’s mom, our daughter Alli, was […]

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Eddie Daniels III

October 19, 2018

On Wednesday night I received word that Eddie Daniels had been shot. A short time later, he was gone. Eddie, a 15-year-old who frequented our City Life Center in downtown Spokane had been embraced and loved by Jeff Ross, our local site director. In Jeff’s words… “He was like a son to me”. A year […]

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Still Gardner

October 12, 2018

The pre-dinner mingling began at 6PM. The Taylor University Board of Trustees had finished a full day of meetings and it was time for dinner with key members of the Administration. The agenda was simple and scripted. An opening prayer, a few remarks, a beautiful tribute to a 1951 Alum all leading to an 8PM […]

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Juni, on Wednesday

October 5, 2018

It was in mid-August when Mary and I sat with our calendars and worked through an intense Fall schedule. Six Regional Leadership Conferences, all scheduled on weekends, a national Youth For Christ golf event, again, on a weekend. Three board meetings… etc. Our objective in August was to find open days during the week that […]

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A Tale of Neighboring Buildings

September 24, 2018

Within a quarter of a mile of my office are two prominent buildings. Both are substantial, expensive and active. One is the home of the Denver Broncos, the other… the Marvin W. Foote Youth Detention Facility. These two properties are side by side, yet they could hardly be farther apart. One rewards the best moments […]

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