April 2016 Double Call–Outs At a very young age, I was ‘called’ to be a missionary to China. Well truthfully, I had no choice—I was born there! The youngest of four children in a missionary family, I grew up as a foreigner in that densely-populated and mysterious nation. I never knew any of my grandparents, …
March 2016 Excellence Crucified Back a few years ago, there was a television commercial by a well-known stockbrokerage firm whose catchphrase was, ”When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” I could say that about quite a few people I know, but there’s one person in particular, a wise and somewhat hidden prophet, who when he …
February 2016 What The Bible Does Not Tell Us . . . (and some questions we might want to ask) You may very well find some of what follows is offensive to you—or perhaps brings an uneasiness. As I researched and wrote this, I most certainly felt the sharp sting of conviction in a number …
January 2016 Those Dark Days This is midwinter for us Northern Hemispherites (or are we Hemispherians? Hemispherics? Hemispheroids?). But this is not about those extra hours of nighttime we get due to the angle of the sun. It’s about a condition that can even apply to those who live on the Equator, where daylight hours …
December 2015 refugee someone who has been forced to leave a country because of war or for religious or political reasons Jesus was a refugee. His father Joseph, warned by an angel in a dream, fled the horror of King Herod’s Bethlehem ‘Massacre of the Innocents,’ and escaped with his small family to Egypt. We …
October~November 2015 Getting & Giving Paul said to the Ephesian church leaders, ”. . . keep remembering that our Master said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting.’” [Acts 20:35 The Message] From even before conception, God saw all the bits of ‘unformed substance’ that were to become you and me [Ps 139]. He gives us …
Out of Order This edition of eTouch is unique, personal and quite unlike anything we’ve done before. Donna & I have just lost the youngest member of our family, our only son, 45 year-old Peter Andrew. He passed away unexpectedly in his sleep last weekend in Vancouver, Canada, where he has lived for 22 years. …
July 2015 The Family that Eats Together . . . A Lost Art? Growing up, our family was fairly dysfunctional (but then, show me a fully functional family and I’ll show you a herd of clones!) Marriage and family are a crucible in which sanctification (or its rejection), is slowly ground into us. The family …
June 2015 Today, as we go about life, we notice that generally speaking, conscience and morality are non-words, no longer concepts and standards by which to live; if it feels good, well go right ahead and do it. Just as long as you don’t hurt anyone else. Oh? Is it possible not to hurt others, …
May 2015 This Month The Sheep Are Sleeping And so am I . . . but Donna is wide awake (see “and Finally . . .” for an explanation). Donna’s Corner Dear Friend, I’ve been pondering a lot about what covenant is. I’m sure there are many books written about it. Covenant is a very …