In the heart of Commerce, Iowa, perched on a crest overlooking the Raccoon River, sat a house that defined the word modest. It was a tiny thing, less than a thousand square feet with a single bedroom and an outhouse that turned a midnight bathroom run into a survival mission against the -25 degree wind chill. But to me, the house wasn't defined by its lack of plumbing; it was defined by its view and the man who lived there; my father. It was a place where gravity and imaginat

There I was, strolling out of Wal-Mart with the effortless swagger of a small-time celebrity. Being a columnist of the local newspaper is, frankly, a heavy burden to carry. The public is drawn to power, and as my friends can attest, the paparazzi and autograph seekers are a constant fixture of my life. It’s a cross I bear. So, when a beautiful young woman came sprinting through the automatic doors shouting for me to stop, I didn't panic. I simply reached for my Sharpie. I pre

Loss has a way of rewriting a person’s map. When my mother passed away at only age forty-one, the world suddenly felt cold and without direction. To me, the stars were just burning gas and the silence of the universe was proof of an empty throne. I didn't just doubt God; I dismissed Him. I became an atheist not out of a desire for rebellion, but out of a deep, aching conviction that I was alone. For years, I walked that path. I wasn’t loud about it, but I was settled. Yet, as

I’m about to utter a sentence so rare it probably qualifies as a sign of the apocalypse: I am officially on Team PETA.  Stop the presses. Check the water supply. I was just reminded of the decade old news story about a woman keeping a 14-year-old chimpanzee as a roommate, and that has me siding with the leaf-eaters; temporarily. This companion decided a house-guest was actually a chew toy, resulting in the kind of carnage usually reserved for Viking raids. When will we, as a

When I was a boy in the quiet rhythm of our neighborhood, he was a fixture; an elderly man with a back bent at a sharp 45-degree angle, leaning heavily on a thick wooden cane. Every morning, with a fragility that made you want to hold your breath, he moved down the sidewalk, a small sack clutched in his weathered hand. For months, I watched him from a distance, wondering about the burden in that bag. It wasn't until I looked closer that I realized what he was doing: he was pi

We often say we are "blessed," but how often do we count the specific ways? I look at my three children and realize that God’s grace started with the basics: ten fingers, ten toes, and five open windows to the world. Of course, once we realize our children can see and hear perfectly, we move on to the great parental mysteries, like why they can see a tiny toy from across the yard but can’t see the neon-bright towel that’s been living on their bedroom floor for a week. Or why

The back roads of Arkansas have a way of whispering secrets if you’re driven enough to listen. On a lazy, amber-lit morning, I found myself winding through the Ozark foothills, drifting past the blurred greens of a waking forest. Then, I rounded a curve and saw it: a massive commercial chicken house. It was a long, industrial scar on the landscape, surrounded by a dusting of white feathers that looked like fallen snow. Behind the wire mesh, thousands of chickens clucked in a

In the mid-1960s, there wasn't much a doctor could do for a man like Tom. Parkinson’s had turned his daily life into a series of exhausting, uncontrolled spasms. Even on a quiet morning, just sitting in his kitchen reading the paper was a struggle against his own nerves. That peace ended when he heard a scream from the front yard. Tom moved as quickly as he could to the door and saw a Doberman pinning two neighborhood children against a tree. The dog was snarling, its teeth b

I have a friend Michael who lives in Branson, Missouri. As a kid his family would take him to a resort on Tablerock in August every year. It was a great way to celebrate the love of family and Michael always looked forward to the lake vacations. 
When he grew up he carried on the tradition and took his wife and kids to the same area each August. His children enjoyed these vacations as much as he did growing up and it really helped to bond a close family even closer. But, as