Explosive Moment

Is the power of a story found in its explosive moment, or might it be somewhere else? Fireworks are fun. Back when I was nine,

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Timmy’s Time Out

Stories excite people because of what went wrong, not what went right. If we’re willing to expose our faults and failures, our experiences will draw

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Christmas Treasure

On Christmas Eve, Johnny found the latest edition of the Montgomery Ward catalog, which was thick and heavy enough to use as a door stop.

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Walking a Tightrope

Daredevils take risks that can be fatal, but playing safe all the time is a boring way to live. If we discover the best path

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The Lost Key

When searching, do I know what I’m looking for? If so, where do I look? Will I recognize it when I see it? I could

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Uncle Charlie

When Susie was a toddler, she didn’t understand relationships and kept calling her grandfather, “Unkly Chili.” Ever since, no matter what the relationship was, people always called him Uncle Charlie.

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Never Walk Alone

Few people have what they would call a “best” friend, someone who understands them completely and appreciates their value. Those who have such a friend

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A Good Investment

High-risk investments are made with the hope for a greater return. If we forgive an offense, what will we get in return? Maybe nothing. Or

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White Lies

People only tell lies when they think it’s to their advantage. We offer social courtesies because saying what we really think might get us unfriended.

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Nowhere to Hide

Children naturally learn to play hide-and-seek. When they hide too well and can’t be found, the fun is lost. They want to be found. Why

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Striving for Perfection

Perfection sometimes masquerades as a noble goal when it is actually an unreachable fantasy. It strains our relationships. What should we do when we think

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Foolishness

What we don’t know can kill us, and that’s why we need help from God, who knows all things. Confident he could fix anything, an

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Rejoice

As a kid, I thought the circus animals were interesting, but the clowns were delightful. They did funny, unexpected things, and they always wore a

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Indescribable

Matt listened intently while Miss Julia waved her arms as if she had visited the world she described. “Adam saw the animals,” she said, “and

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Drive Carefully

The forecast called for temperatures in the mid-twenties and freezing rain. Most people would be smart enough to stay home. “Drive carefully. The life you

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Something Fishy

Before I started kindergarten, I was taught how to use a knife. While my friends were using blunt-nose scissors, I had a sharp pocket knife

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Dead Man Calling

Graduating high school seniors remember very few events earlier than ten years ago. They can’t imagine what life would be like without cell phones and

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Cowboy Paraphrase

As It Might Have Happened in the Old West By Frank Ball For many families, reading the nativity story at Christmas is a family tradition.

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Charlie Brown

In the 1960s, we loved the Peanuts characters. Charlie Brown had a memorable Christmas, Lucy played on Charlie’s baseball team, and Linus always had his blanket. As a pilot, Snoopy had numerous airfield battles with the Red Baron. But other important people have been named Charlie Brown.

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Miss Muffet’s Surprise

“Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider who sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away.”

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The Finish Line

Fables are told so often, I’m sure you’ve heard this story. But in the process of retelling it countless times, the details aren’t always the

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Sam’s Dilemma

Sam sat straight up in bed. What could the old man want at this time of night? Strange, but it was not the role of a servant to question his master when called.

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Janet’s Christmas Story

I’ll never forget Christmas at Granny’s when I was twelve. At times, I want to forget, because that was the year the family was singing

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School Daze

In 1949, fences were used to corral livestock, and we didn’t have any. We didn’t need a fence, because crossing the invisible line that marked

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The Honest Truth

Daddy looked mystified. “Have you seen my fishing knife?” I shook my head. “Not me. I haven’t seen it.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah.” Evidently, he

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Puzzled

Because Johnny was blind, exploring his world and making discoveries required skillful use of hearing, touch, and smell. Somehow, Daddy used his expensive pocket watch

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Elsie’s Night Out

Every day, Elsie the cow munched lush grasses across the meadow. Safe and content within the boundaries of barbed wire, she had no thought of

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Bacon and Eggs

The “Chicken and the Pig” fable is often used by businesses to illustrate the difference between involvement and commitment. The origin of the fable is

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Password to Heaven

Many funny stories have been told about people who died and went Heaven. Some of the stories, told in various ways, end with the same

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A Fish Story

On a guided fishing trip with my oldest son last week, my grandson Hunter caught the biggest fish. Mine would have been bigger than his,

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Going the Wrong Way

Greg thought he could outrun the storm and get to safety, but where? He drove south on 19th street but had to stop at the

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God’s Story in You

Most Christians will not lead one person to the Lord in their lifetime. Why is that? Why are we so reluctant to share Christ with

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Timmy’s Secret

Timmy Johnson slipped out of the house through the bedroom window, with his German Shepard, Shultzy, tagging along. “I know, Mom said I have to

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Believing

Susan studied the charts, but they made about as much sense if she were trying to read them without her glasses. Psychological and physiological conditions

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Lost and Found

Ken had lost his glasses. He looked everywhere, in the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, even on the tool bench in the garage. “They

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Anticipation

In a story, the place where you visualize yourself determines how deeply you are affected. If you feel like you’re observing the action, your reading

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Quiet Time

When I was a kid, I had laryngitis for a few days, which made it impossible to talk. My mother said that was a blessing,

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Unanswered Prayer

The physician Luke is the only Gospel writer to tell us about the miraculous birth of John, who was to prepare the way for the

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The Beginning

Before creation, God in his infinite foreknowledge, wisdom, and power knew what the world would be. He made Adam and Eve in his own image,

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Driving Blind

On a mid-July late afternoon, I am driving my family to Dallas on I-30 when we hit an isolated shower. A mist steams up from

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The Lost Key

A friend agreed to sell me his custom van for what he could get on trade-in, which wasn’t much for a three-year-old vehicle, even though

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