Preparation. A stairway. Second story space. Table. Bread. Wine. Friends. Yearly celebration. Prophecy. Prayer. Ominous proclamation. Somber dispositions. Discussion. Two hands meet. Confirmation. Perplexity. Concern. Grief. Bewilderment. Confusion. Disorientation. Disbelief. A question. An answer. An exit. Prophecy of abandonment. A bold reply. A prophetic retort. One doubles down. All double down. They walk. He commands.…

We lock the doors and windows to our homes. We wear seatbelts when we drive or ride in vehicles. We wear helmets (and sometimes more) when we ride bicycles. We wear helmets and, usually, special clothing when we ride motorcycles—gloves, leathers, boots. Law enforcement and military wear Kevlar. We remove dangerous trees from our yards.…

A few nights ago, Stacy and I watched a movie. It was a “psychological thriller.” You know, the type of movie where there is no real overt action that frightens you (for the most part). But there is burgeoning tension, always aided and abetted by the musical score, of course. Needless to say, Stacy and…

Growing up, my brothers and I played a lot of sports. We covered just about the entire sports gambit, in fact, at least what was available back then. Between the three of us, we played football, basketball, baseball, soccer, ran track, and wrestled. It was a lot of fun (well, except for all that practicing…

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold,…