The Back Table

The other day a commercial came on that I think was about cereal. It ended with the dad giving his son a celebration hip check (because this is always what you want to do after eating Raisin Bran :) ). Both were smiling from ear to ear with their perfect father-and- son relationship in their beautiful, perfect house. Everything seemed for them... well…normal...without problems - no disease, no disorders, no Bell's Palsy.  And this question mixed with complaint crossed my mind, "Why can't I have that?" All in all, life has been pretty close to a "celebration hip check" for me. Yes, there have been some small bumps and stitches along the way. (And yes, I could have done without the softball collision that broke my entire face.) But for the most part, it's been good...normal.  A few years ago our " normal" was hijacked, and my family and I were left trying to figure out what happened, what to do, and how we were going to move on witho

Is there a restaurant that you go to for the wrong reasons? For example, do you go to International House of Pancakes for the eggs, or Waffle House for the amazing atmosphere and great tasting food? In general, I go to restaurants for the right reasons. But there is one exception: I go to Texas Roadhouse not for the steaks, but for the rolls and butter. For a season, buns were on my mind a little too much. One lonely night I thought about going there by myself just to get some. Knowing I was in a low and desperate state, I rolled my cares to Jesus, and He raised me up and spread  His grace over me, giving me the strength to resist. (Why did writing that sentence make me hungry?!) I'm sure you've heard of the story of Jesus feeding well over 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. But did you catch the post-meal conversation with the ones He fed just a day after? John 6:25-30:  They (the crowd) found him on the other side of the lake and asked, "Rabbi, whe

I'm sure you've heard the expression, "when pigs fly," right? It's typically used to describe something that will never happen. Many have used this saying when talking about the Eagles' chances of winning a Super Bowl or the day that Steeler fans will stop flashing their make-believe rings like gangster rap stars. But did you ever experience a time when the pigs actually flew? When the impossible happened? What did you do? What was your response? There is this story in the Bible about a man who was possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus sees him and casts out the demon into a herd of pigs that then flew over a cliff and died. (OK, so they didn't fly. They dropped off the cliff like anvils. I had to find some way of luring you in with the title.) People seeing what happened were amazed and astonished. So amazed and astonished that they asked him to leave the town immediately. You heard me, they wanted him out. What would cause a group of people t