If Jesus taught us nothing else, He taught the need to forgive those who have offended you. That’s easy to nod along to on a Sunday morning, but try it on a Tuesday afternoon after someone cuts you off in traffic, and you’ll find it takes more muscle than a gym membership provides. Forgiveness, as…

I’ve seen folks walk around acting like everyone owes them an apology. They’ll strut through life pointing fingers and finding fault in others, never realizing they’re the common denominator in their own misfortunes. It’s like watching a man play Russian roulette with a mirror. He might not hear the gun go off, but you can…

I’ve heard it said that four things don’t really exist: luck, fate, coincidence, and common sense. Now, I know what you’re thinking, you’ve been leaning on at least two of those your whole life. But hear me out, because it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Luck? People like to dress it up as the…

Forget the endless debate about whether the glass is half-full or half-empty. That’s not my problem. My problem is: Where the dickens is my glass? See, I’m not the sort who goes around philosophizing over water levels. I’m more the type who sets a glass down and then spends the next half-hour retracing steps like…

A thin frost had crept down the trail overnight, laying a pale glaze across the high country. In a meadow fed by the slow seep of a nearby creek, the earth had swelled into frost boils, the mud rising and splitting as if the ground itself were drawing breath. Just beyond, in a north-facing copse…

There’s a little country store down the road where men still sit on the porch, whittling away time and the occasional piece of cedar. The screen door squeaks when you pull it open, and the bell above it jingles like a reminder that civilization hasn’t completely forgotten where it came from. Most mornings, if you…

The moment I said it out loud, “God, I’m falling apart,” I expected a lightning bolt, a choir, maybe a strongly worded email. The house stayed quiet except for the old clock ticking. “Falling apart?” came the answer, not in trumpet fanfare but from that creaky place inside me that still liked to use the…

Most women want a little reassurance. I’ve spent a lifetime discovering this. And I’ve spent an equal lifetime occasionally ignoring it, usually to my own regret. It happened again last Thursday. We were at a neighborhood block party, which is always a mix of good food, bad guitar playing, and the kind of small talk…

I’m calling it a win: I got up to pee three times, but fell asleep on the throne once, so it only felt like twice. At this stage in life, victories don’t look like championship rings or ticker-tape parades. It seems like they could use some extra sleep in between bathroom trips. And, in my…

In the dusty lanes of Willow Creek, where the cotton fields hummed with cicadas, folks gathered at the Blue Moon Café to swap stories over biscuits and gravy. Lately, the talk was sour. A slick-talking drifter named Cal had blown into town, promising to fix the old mill and bring jobs. He’d charmed half the…