Newsletter Archive

I watched The Polar Express Thanksgiving weekend with my oldest son, Jason, and three-year-old twin grandsons, Sam and Max.

December 15, 2023

Last time was a little heavy, I apologize. Not that I would change it. If our story has often been bad, we need to acknowledge it. If it can ever be better, we first need to know our diagnosis. Lying to ourselves about the fact we’re ill will never help. We will come back to…

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It begs the question: “What is God’s story?”

November 30, 2023

In the last several newsletters I have shared several important things about stories: Stories can communicate great truths, often without our awareness, like in The Wizard of Oz. How clear are any of us about the one thing we most need, but also how and where to find it? Stories can penetrate our defenses and…

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Stories have a way of communicating the very thing we need to hear!

November 15, 2023

Last time we began the story of David and Bathsheba. Stories have a way of communicating the very thing we need to hear, but more than that, they can penetrate our defenses, the ones we so easily construct when someone talks to us more directly. We have all become very adept at hearing what we…

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Last time we went to Oz with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. Was there more to the story than you remembered?

October 31, 2023

Last time we went to Oz with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. Was there more to the story than you remembered? How clear might any of us be about . . . the one thing we most need? That’s pretty heavy, I know. We are just talking about a children’s story,…

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Stories have always been about us, a mirror in which we can see ourselves

October 16, 2023

On the back cover of my book, Once Upon A Time, I said “Stories have always been about us, a mirror in which we can see ourselves — our hopes and dreams, but also our greatest dilemmas.” I believe stories can be just this meaningful, even more. I believe stories can communicate great truths and…

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Why do so many of us love stories?

October 2, 2023

I’ve never been one for summaries, but I believe it is time. Here are the questions we’ve asked so far: Why do so many of us love stories? Could we be looking for some kind of answer, something we very much need? We also asked whether the subtitle for my book, Once Upon A Time,…

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The Deeper Meaning of Home

September 15, 2023

Last time, I promised you a story that would shed some light on the deeper meaning of “home”. You may be familiar with it. Once upon a time, there were two brothers. Their father was a wealthy man who loved them both a great deal. The older son was diligent and dutiful and helped to…

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Might we all be trying to find our way home?

August 30, 2023

Once Upon A Time, a collection of short stories for those trying to find their way home, contains twelve stories which I hope will encourage and inspire, but as the subtitle implies, were written for much more. Might we all be trying to find our way home? What might that mean, truly? An internet search…

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Why do so many of us love stories? Why are we so drawn to them?

August 15, 2023

Why do so many of us love stories? Why are we so drawn to them? Do you remember how much you loved to be read to as a child? How much your own children loved this, or even your grandchildren? Before modern times the best way to escape the routine and mediocrity of everyday life…

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Welcome, I'm Sam!

A fellow traveler on this journey we call life and this path we call the Christian faith, wanting to share the incredible things God chose to reveal to me. Stories have always been a mirror in which we can see ourselves, if we only look more closely. We are all like the children of Israel in the wilderness, wanting and needing to establish ourselves in the promised land. Stories can help us to get there, and to flourish there.

I can't wait to get to know you!

Best,
Sam

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