When I first got into recovery, I felt like a mosquito at a nudist colony. I didn’t know where to begin. Recovery, like a thirsty mosquito at a nudist colony, is all about getting started. Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” And Drew Houston, the 37-year-old founder of Dropbox (worth…
Dad warned me about this, but it happened anyway. As a new driver, I forgot to check the fuel level in my car. So I ran out of gas. This was in the pre-cell phone era, so a long walk to a gas station was in order. Many times, recovery is like that. We don’t…
Saint Ambrose wrote, “Many a sin has sullied me in body and in soul because I did not restrain my thoughts nor guard my lips; nevertheless, it is to Thee, O God of majesty and love, that I turn in my extremity, for Thou are the fount of mercy; to Thee, as quickly as I…
A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds air demonstration is an amazing thing to see. The F-16 fighter jet was developed to act as a support weapons system for the military’s larger and more expensive fighter aircraft, the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle. Blindingly fast and agile, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has a top speed of…
There is an interesting phrase in the Book of Genesis. Cain had just had his offering to God rejected on grounds that are not completely clear. But it was the downward spiral that followed that is of interest to us. God told Cain, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at…
A.W. Tozer wrote with his typical brilliance, in The Pursuit of God. “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must…
I hopped in my car at 4:15 a.m. to go pick up a friend to take him to the airport for an early flight. But before I left my driveway, this message flashed from the screen above the steering column: Low air pressure in back right tire. Only one tire was going flat. The other…
Richard Elliot was born on January 16, 1960. So was I. Richard Elliot was given a tenor saxophone as a young teenager. So was I. Richard Elliot played tenor sax for years. So did I. Richard Elliot was nominated for a Grammy Award for his excellent play of the tenor sax. I wasn’t. Richard Elliot…
A man was on his hands and knees under a street light late at night when another man passed by and asked what he was doing. The following discussion ensued. “I’m looking for my wallet,” the man said. “Are you sure you lost it here?” asked the passerby. “No, I lost it at the other…
There is a story in Genesis 16 about an Egyptian teenager named Hagar. She is brought in as a concubine for Abraham because he and Sarai had been struggling with infertility for more than ten years. Hagar successfully conceived a child for Abraham and Sarai. But Sarai mistreated Hagar. In the next scene, we find…