To Brie or Not to Brie

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday than by parodying his most famous line.

Well, I can’t say for sure it is Shakespeare’s birthday. That fabled baptismal record could be just that: a fable. But let’s play along and say today is the playwright’s 462nd birth anniversary. And, as the story goes, his 410th death anniversary.

What I can say for sure is that I’m not the first person to parody Shakespeare’s most famous line. Who knows, maybe Shakespeare himself did it after Hamlet premiered in 1600.

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July 17 Memories

I have loved today’s date for seven years now. I was in prayer one morning in 2018 when I happened to open my eyes and look at my clock at 7:17. I sensed the number was significant, so I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what it meant.

I have shared the revelation in this video, but the gist is that the Holy Spirit led me to Genesis 8:4, where we are told that Noah’s ark came to rest on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. For this reason the Gregorian July 17 has a special place in my heart.

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The Day of Second Chances: A Letter to My Mother

My dearest Mummy,

When I started writing my letter to you on this day last year, I did not know where to begin. But today I know exactly where to begin. I guess that itself is a sign of progress, and I know you’ll be happy. You’d never want me to stay trapped in my grief. You’d want me to make the most of this life I still have. I can’t say I’ve made the most of every minute of these last two years, but read on. Continue reading

Some Cloudy Day

A few minutes after noon today, I picked up my phone to see a message from a friend that began, “The sad day has finally come. Queen Elizabeth II has died.”

As I was coming to terms with the news, I remembered that one of my first thoughts this morning was of England. Some hours before the queen took her final breath, all the way across the pond I was thinking of the land over which she had reigned so long and so well. Continue reading

A 9/11 Memory

When an event as cataclysmic as 9/11 occurs, you never forget where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was having my devotions in a sunlit spot in the Redondo Beach condo where I was renting a room. Unfortunately I cannot recall which passage I was reading, but I can still see the beige-covered NIV Study Bible lying open on my lap, and feel the sunshine streaming upon my shoulders through the window behind me. And I can still hear the silence in the moments before I found out that the world had changed forever.

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A Father Story

When I got home from church today, I found my package among a pile of Amazon deliveries lying haphazardly near the mailbox. It seems as though everyone in my building had received a package today. Perhaps some were last-minute Father’s Day gifts.

My package contained a jar of silver polish and two bottles of my favorite dish soap. I hadn’t run out, but for some reason I’d added them to the cart while ordering the polish. I love worshipping the Lord while doing dishes so don’t like running out of dish soap, especially since the Target and Ralphs near me stopped stocking this brand during the lockdown. I don’t know why. It’s not like it’s toilet paper.

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A Eulogy for My Mother

Author’s Note: If you find this post helpful, please consider purchasing a copy of There Once Was a Man Who Suffered, the book I wrote after my mother passed, or any of my other books. Thank you. The rest of this post was published on June 12, 2021.

This is the eulogy I gave at my mother’s memorial service a few hours ago. I have made some minor edits and added links to the Scripture passages quoted and the video commemorating my mother’s life.

On behalf of my family, I want to thank each of you for joining us today. We are grateful for your presence and for the many comforting messages we have received since our beloved mother went home to be with the Lord on May 5. Thank you.

Writing the eulogy for Lalita Edwards is at once easy and difficult. Easy because of her exemplary character and well-lived life, and difficult because she was my mother and this is yet another reminder that I will not see her again this side of eternity. There’s a reason the Bible describes death as the last enemy.

My mother was the epitome of the virtuous woman depicted in Proverbs 31. She was wise, generous, compassionate, hardworking, and faithful. Above all, Continue reading