When our daughter, Haley, decided to drive from her home in Hollywood back to Texas for a visit, I asked her if I could fly out and then come along on the road trip. Yes, I was concerned about her being alone in the desert with a high-mileage, 10-year-old car, but I was equally enthusiastic about traveling the route itself.
Gone to Look for America
An Unremarkable Life
If all I knew about my grandfather was what I read in his 1952 diary I might think he was a man whose life was a monotonous string of colorless days. My grandfather, Bunyan Smith, was a pastor in one of the poorest sections of Nashville, and I knew enough about his life as a preacher to expect that his diary would not likely be thrilling. However, I was completely unprepared for how unremarkable i ...[Read More]
Lost Boys
My father left me three watches as part of my inheritance. The first, and oldest, was the one his parents had given him as a graduation present from high school in 1932. The second was a watch he bought when he left his corporate career and went into business for himself as a consultant. The third was a Rolex he bought and wore for almost 40 years. While I never asked him directly, I think that la ...[Read More]
Imprisoned by the Past
The most memorable line President Obama spoke about his recent meeting with Raul Castro was, “The United States will not be imprisoned by the past.” I have thought a lot about that over the last few months, not only as an American, but what that means as a Christian. How can we know when we are imprisoned? And how can we change without losing our moorings and commitments to those permanent values ...[Read More]