Looking back on the year 2020, I am trying to reflect on lessons God has been teaching me throughout the pandemic. Here’s what I have so far: 1) All plans are tentative 2) Slow down 3) Touch with words 4) Choose to focus on what you still have My 83-year old father died at … More Life is very fragile
I love the Jason Gray song “Good to Be Alive,” which contains the lines “I want to live like there’s no tomorrow / I want to love like I’m on borrowed time.” Former Lincoln Christian University student Steve Szoke was given thirty-two years to live on Earth and former student Sam VanGeison only twenty-six. When … More He rang true!
Sam VanGieson was a student at Lincoln Christian University who passed away at age 26. He was only 23 years old when he was diagnosed with cancer. He went into remission at age 24, only to have to have the cancer return at age 25. Sam married his wife Savannah in November 2012, then passed … More Winning either way!
How regrettable to reach the end of your life still wondering about its purpose! Many people seem to get stuck earning a paycheck, eating, sleeping, spending the paycheck, and then starting the cycle all over again. But life is more than earning money and spending it. Inside every person, something asks why am I here? … More That’s what I wanted!
I did not have a good relationship with my earthly father when I was growing up, but I am happy to say it has greatly improved over time. God has given me the strength to forgive my dad for loving me poorly as a child. About ten years ago, I took him out to lunch … More Hearing his Story-Forgiving my Dad
Job said, “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy” (Job 9:25). By runner, Job doesn’t mean a marathon runner, methodically running twenty-six miles. Rather, think about Olympic sprinters, who finish a hundred-meter race in fewer than ten seconds. In the New Testament, James warns those who make … More Sprinters and Tea Kettles
The brevity of life is a major theme in the Bible. In Psalm 39, David asks the Lord to show him his life’s end and then uses three metaphors to illustrate a simple theme: Life is brief. David describes life as a mere handbreadth, a quick breath, a fleeting phantom. Compared to an eternal God … More Wilting Flowers
Wake-up calls are all around. Just look at the news, or even at events unfolding around you. On August 19, 2009, a tornado hit the small town of Williamsville, Illinois, near my home, leveling a Casey’s convenience store and an antique store where a friend of mine worked—though fortunately she wasn’t there at the time. … More A Tornado and A Deer
One morning several years ago, I received a shocking wake-up call. I was in a hurry to get to work when my preschool-aged daughter, Sammy, lying on the couch in the family room, caught me just before I reached the door and yelled, “Daddy! Would you find Barney for me on the TV?” My first … More An Overturned Semi-Truck
May 27, 2008, was a very sad day for me. On that day, Bob Szoke let people know that his son Steve’s earthly journey was over: Steve had gone on to be with the Lord. Steve lost a hard-fought battle with colon cancer, dying just a few days short of his thirty-third birthday and leaving … More You are Terminal
Michael Edward Nichols 