JESUS IS THE GARBAGE MAN Yesterday morning, early, I stood by my office window and watched the garbage man empty my trash. I thought: “What if Jesus were the garbage man and the garbage bin contained all my sins from the previous day that He’d take away? Then each day would be a fresh start […]
ALICE CAME HOME SICK My four-year-old granddaughter came home sick Tuesday afternoon, and my son (her father) called Nana (my wife) to ask if she could come down to Northfield (a 90-minute drive) so Alice could recuperate at home. Diane had returned home late Monday from a trip to North Dakota and had all sorts […]
GOD IS GOOD God is good…all the time. It’s hard to grasp that when you’re in a prison cell locked up 22-24 hours a day (24 when there’s a lockdown) with a murderer who wants to beat someone up so he can release his anger. If that weren’t bad enough, Raphael was informed he would […]
RAPHAEL GETS A RED BOX One month ago, Raphael told me his cellmate would be transferred to another prison the next day. I asked him how he knew that, since he had previously told me prisoners are transferred without advance notice. “Because they brought a red box to our cell the night before last, which […]
THE LORD WAS IN DOOR COUNTY We returned home late Sunday from a trip with friends to Mackinac Island and Door County. That’s why there was no posting last Friday morning. When we arrived Friday afternoon at our motel in Door County, I took an ill-timed shower after a day of traveling, and the group […]
CALLS FROM PRISON Raphael calls me from prison once a week, sometimes twice. He has a new cellmate who is in for murder and is otherwise a very bad person who becomes agitated at the least little thing, like someone going the bathroom. Raphael is locked up with him 23 hours a day. The bleakness […]
DOING WHAT I WANT TO DO My five-year-old granddaughter Alice is a polite and delightful little girl. We had the blessing of her company this past weekend, along with her father and mother. Though she is easy going most of the time, she yet has her moments. On Saturday afternoon, Nana wanted to take Alice […]
ALEXIS AND GRAYSON My oldest son and his wife have given my wife and I two wonderful grandchildren. The oldest one is a 23-month-old named Alexis. She is a vibrant little girl who is bent on having her own way. Her favorite words are Mine which she proclaims with great emphasis and No which she […]
RAPHAEL – THE REST OF THE STORY I visited Raphael in the state penitentiary yesterday afternoon, where he’ll spend the first three years of an eight-year sentence. It was a formidable atmosphere. Dark gray walls outside. Guards everywhere inside. Gates opening and closing under heavy scrutiny. I spent more than an hour in a stark […]
RAPHAEL CONTINUED I met with Raphael one-on-one three times in the county jail following his salvation and before he was shipped off to a state penitentiary for 11 years. Since the Lord had used me to bring Raphael to Him, I felt obligated to disciple him. In addition, I wanted to make sure the conversion […]