My guest blogger kicking off the new year is my youngest daughter, Lauren Drapal. She’s our brain injury survivor. She’s also a successful hairdresser in Kansas City - check out her Instagram @hairlikeaqueen. But first and foremost, she loves Jesus. And she’s a pretty good writer, too. She doesn’t have a blog, but posted this…
Sunday Perspectives: Compact Creativity
Here’s to the makers of American decorative signs, who express complete thoughts of wit, humor, and inspiration in the smallest possible spaces. Finally, someone really gets me. Don’t ask me how few. Here, have some more potato salad... ‘Nuff said there. Just ask my 14-week old puppy! And speaking of the pup, here she is!…
Leaving the 99: Scriptural Lessons on Leadership
A while back, as I was browsing through my LinkedIn timeline, I came cross this quote from leadership expert John Maxwell: “Needless to say, you can love people without leading them, but you cannot lead people without loving them.” - John Maxwell John was roundly criticized by a commenter for trying to bring religion into…
It’s All Right to be Little Bitty: Colossians 3:23-24
NOTE: In one of my favorites posts from 2019, here are my thoughts on Colossians 3:23. Fame. In 2019's social-media driven world, it's all about being famous. Today's American culture considers entertainers, sports stars and "influencers" as the only people who are really important. That's why the simple, plaintive words of the old country song…
The Right Sword: John 15:4
The young dad, not yet in his mid-30s, sat unsuspectingly in the church pew on that Sunday morning, unaware that the course of his life was about to change. These days, you might think a gun was involved. But there wasn't. Instead, there was a sword. On that summer Sunday in 1994, the pastor pulled…
Loving Broken People
Hollywood just paid Fred Rogers a big compliment. But it's probably not the one they expected. The long-awaited trailer for the Mr. Rogers biopic, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, dropped this past week. Mr. Rogers is being played by none other than Tom Hanks. Let that sink in for a minute. The most iconic…
Conversation Starters
On a back road in Southern Illinois, heading home for a Memorial Day visit, I saw these words on a church sign in Thompsonville, Illinois: Jesus is God's selfie. I love clever church signs as much as the next guy. And I understand the desire to engage the culture "where it's at." As long as…
Love Is…..
A spring break trip to Waco, Texas last month landed us at the Magnolia Market, the home of the design and decor empire founded by HGTV's Chip and Joanna Gaines. We were well aware of the Gaines' Christian faith before we arrived. And true to form, beautiful items of home decor incorporating Bible verses into…
It’s All Right to be Little Bitty
Let's redirect our thoughts away from what our culture deems important, which is often non-reality, to what is real, and what is true.
Where There is Mourning, There is Love
We spent some of the waning hours of 2018 saying goodbye to one of my best friends' 95-year-old father. In 2018, I was privileged to join in the celebration of home-going for the fathers of two of our dearest friends. I also said a final goodbye to my own dad. My friend had the God-given…
Mike G. Smith 