revruss1220
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Confessions of a human punching bag
If memory serves, sixth grade was the last time I was ever in a genuine fistfight. It was a hot summer day. As usual, I was at the community swimming pool with my friends splashing, diving, and horsing around. When… Continue reading
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Here in the aftermath…
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:21, NRSV) Today, words fail. And yet, I have always been encouraged that the attempt to assemble appropriate words can often be the beginning point of the process of healing. So I press on… I… Continue reading
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Old eyes, new eyes/Brown eyes, blue eyes
For at least the first week and a half afterward, it is like I had an eye transplant. Old eyes gone… a new set dropped into their place. And then, inevitably, I realize that the old eyes have returned… slowly… Continue reading
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MINE!
I hoped my wince went unnoticed. But then I realized I was dealing with one of the most perceptive, most eagle-eyed people God ever created; my wife Joan. And so of course… she saw the wince as soon as it… Continue reading
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You Belong
Three doors down from the house I grew up in lived a family named the Thompsons. There was Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson (that was back in the time when kids didn’t know adults’ first names) and their three sons. If… Continue reading
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Tree of Light
Yes, it’s true. Today is January 24 and our Christmas tree is still up. Fully decorated and lighted. Know what else? It will probably be up for another two days. Every other scrap of indoor and outdoor Christmas décor has… Continue reading
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Maintenance Man
If it is out, I need to put it away. If it is crinkled, I need to iron it. If it is dirty, I need to clean it. If it is untidy, I need to tidy it. If it is… Continue reading
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The Power of Commitment
It is admittedly a little odd to peer inside my head today and see the two things taking up most of the space there: The Kansas City Chiefs football team, and… Martin Luther King, Jr. The Chiefs are there because… Continue reading
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Blasts from pasts
It is the great boon and the great bane of our wonderful world of instantaneous electronic connection. You or I can be shuffling along, minding our own business, when SHAZAM! a voice or face from the distant, forgotten past suddenly… Continue reading
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Scratch it!
Have you ever had an itch? I mean the kind that was located at that exactly perfectly unreachable spot on your back… just right THERE. An intense itch. The kind that would not be ignored nor trifled with. It is… Continue reading
Russellings of the Spirit 