The Prodigal One

This past Sunday I was invited by our Pastor to help serve communion. The Pastor split the loaf and gave half to me to serve the congregation as they kneeled at the rail. As the bread was offered each member took a pinch of bread and a cup of wine. Everything was going as planned until a pair of brothers decided to make it into a contest. The first reached into the middle and pulled out a piece of bread the size of a golf ball. Not to be outdone, his brother pulled out a piece the size of a baseball. They looked to see my reaction. All I could …..

The Bible tells us God will forgive us for our sins. Unfortunately the remnant of those sins may last a lifetime. This has become magnified over the last couple of weeks. Watching those who you love struggle is heartbreaking. My sin has handcuffed my family financially. Unfortunately, I know the helplessness of being handcuffed. Relationships have been fractured.  The remnant of your sin can lead you into deep despair and into a valley. This is right where the devil wants you. In Tony Evans book ‘No More Excuses’ he wrote, “Sometimes God must lead you downhill to take you uphill; He must take you to the bottom in order to …..

Before I went to prison I never liked to read and certainly never thought I would write a book. But God has given me the opportunity to do both. From time to time I would like to share some of the stories I have come across. The other night I read a story in one of Max Lucado’s books and thought this would be a good place to start. To paraphrase the story there was a man named Henry but to the neighbors he was Mr. Doom and Gloom. He did not want to be unhappy so he decided to talk to his Pastor to see what was wrong. The …..

While waiting for an appointment I struck up a conversation with one of the ladies in the office. As with most conversations with a stranger the dialogue opened with a discussion on the weather. It was unseasonably cool and felt very refreshing after several hot and humid days. The lady explained to me how she volunteered for one of the animal shelters and that Saturday they were walking the dogs in a parade. She welcomed the cool weather for the walk. She continued to tell me how last year it was over 100 degrees and she had to walk an old beagle. With two blocks to go the beagle decided …..