As Is
Electrical outlets to nowhere. Light switches not connected to any light. Tobacco smoke and tar stains on the walls and ceiling. Floors that aren’t level. Carpet that needs cleaning. And…
Freak Show
I called my friend Andy Wood and asked, “Do you ever have moments where you realize that life is a freak show…and we’re the freaks?” “Ladies and gentlemen, hear ye,…
The Beautiful Dirty Beat
(“The Beautiful Dirty Beat” is a piece written and presented for a creative worship night of the same title at Turning Point Community Church in November 2010. Click here for a listen…
Dumpster Roses
It’s not what I expect to find when I take out the trash. Laying on the ground at the foot of the dumpster is a clear glass vase filled with…
Terms And Conditions
During a Phoenix Seminary class in 1994, Dr. Norm Wakefield gave us a bookmark. I’ve had it in my Bible every day since. One side reads: “The terms and conditions…
A Fair Hearing
It was fall of 1993. I'd lived in the East Valley only a couple months and was still finding my way around the valley. One late afternoon I discovered a…
The Week Before Christmas
Annie and Emma unbuckled their seat belts and tried to be the first to sit next to me. It was time for our “pre-preschool” parking lot conversation. We had been…
Who Cares?
I believe it was Mark Twain who said, “The more time I spend with the so-called “good people”, the more I understand why Jesus preferred to spend His time with…
Front Row
For the past few years I’ve worked a part-time job at the Team Shop in America West Arena. It’s where the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the Arena Football League’s Arizona…
The Mud People
Once upon a time in a place not so far away lived the Mud People. They lived under a big blue sky like you and me. They worked and ate…