Growing up, motels were magical places for me. We didn’t have a lot of money, so when one of my sisters and her family moved to Connecticut, we all went into deep mourning.

Going from one place to another: by design, that’s what a boat does. It helps people cross water. There are ferries that take humans and cars across channels to homes or workplaces, and there are catamarans that catch the wind and tilt sideways, a kind of surfboard or skateboard on the water…

I like to think I grew up at the beach. As a boy, there was nothing better in life than standing at the shoreline, waves washing up around my legs, the feeling of the sand washing back out in the receding surf as the ocean gave a hiss and another wave crashed and brought more wet sand to circle around my legs…

As we began a new season of kindergarten ministry a few weeks back, we were getting to know the children. In that first week, they seemed remarkably well behaved.  Given that the curriculum was situated where the Old Testament prophets were speaking out against rampant idol worship, we were tasked with explaining idolatry. “What do you love?” I asked the children….