Online Cowards

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By Shawn Boonstra

It's as awful as a story gets. Almost.

Here's how it gets worse: within hours of the story making headlines, the ghouls came out to play. Attention-hungry cowards, fearlessly hiding behind the anonymity of a fabricated Twitter account, cashed in on the parents' pain. From a safe distance, with little fear of retribution, they mocked the parents and blamed them for the tragedy. "Candidate for parents of the year," said one Twitter account, sarcastically. Others called the parents "stupid," "deserving," "idiots" ... you name it.

Mister Dr Pepper

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By Jean Boonstra

I am a fan of Dr Pepper and not because I drink the bubbly brown beverage. My maiden name is Pepper. As kids my brother, sister and I promised each other we’d pursue PhDs. We were deeply disappointed that neither our dad or uncle had pursued theirs—didn’t they want to be Dr. Pepper? We would make up for their lack of commitment to what was clearly their calling and make things right in our generation.

No Work Emails at Home

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By Kurt Johnson

The legislation if passed would go into effect in 2018 and would require companies to encourage employees to turn off phones and other devices after they leave work. 

Business owner, Nicolas Potier, does not like the idea of disconnecting. "As a business owner, my life is to be connected to my company 24/7." Mr. Potier continues sharing that he is "vigilant" to his employee's quality of life and most are willing to take the time necessary to do the job. He concludes, "it is a state of mind." In essence, just accept the reality of a 24 hour connect with your job. 

God's Amazing Grace

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By Alex Rodriguez

"I am 62 years of age (Hispanic), and the oldest of eight children. At the age of 13, my mom and dad divorced. My dad's sister started taking us to the Baptist Church here in Texas. After that I started going to church camps and Vacation Bible Schools. I was married at 15 years old and was pulled out of school and started working at the café where I met my husband. 

Homeless

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By Shawn Boonstra

It's not unusual to see one moving truck parked on the street or in the driveway, but on this occasion, I paused for a moment because there were two. 

Apparently, someone was eager to complete his or her transition quickly. The moving company? Two Men and a Truck. In this case, I assume there were four men and two trucks. 

Betrayal

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By Jean Boonstra

For some reason parents just don't want to name their children after the man who betrayed Jesus.

Judas was a common name back in Jesus’ day. It is the Greek form of Judah and the literal meaning is “Praise Yahweh.” The New Testament names seven different Judas’. Once a good name to give a son, the events leading up to the crucifixion changed the name forever.

Love Your Enemies

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By Alex Rodriguez

Well did they know Jeremiah’s predictions that God would one day hand them over to the Babylonians. King Josiah was likely fresh on their minds. Though he cleaned up Jerusalem’s act for a time, God had only agreed to spare Jerusalem during Josiah’s lifetime. Their thoughts must have also stretched back to King Hezekiah. Instead of giving God glory for extending his life 15 years, he showed the Chaldeans all the temporal treasures of his kingdom. As a result, Isaiah delivered God’s sobering message that the Chaldeans would come and take all–including his children.

The Right to be Offended

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By Shawn Boonstra

Not everybody answers to that description, but enough of our fellow citizens are behaving so poorly that we should probably take inventory and assess our changing culture.  

What poor behavior, you ask? The persistent attempt to silence those with whom we disagree. We’ve gone from safe spaces on college campuses, replete with fuzzy blankets and puppy videos, to incessant trigger warnings . . . and now coercive attempts to deny people the right to speak or associate with whomever they please. 

Snowy Almost Spring

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By Jean Boonstra

We woke up to a frosty blanket of snow. My first thoughts were not of Spring tulips, but a blanket, a warm cup of tea and a good book. A quiet day of reading in a blanket cocoon and homemade soup for supper feels just about right. Unfortunately, if I want homemade soup for dinner, I'll have to unspin the cocoon to make it, so I've decided on a recipe that will make the effort worth the break in hibernation.

Ephphatha

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By Alex Rodriguez

Take Mark 7:5 for example. The Pharisees and the Scribes questioned Jesus as to why his disciples did not follow the custom of washing before eating bread. In response, Jesus referred to them as “hypocrites,” quoting Isaiah’s statement that they honor the Lord with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. In another instance recorded in Mark 8, Jesus rebuked Peter. "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." These don’t quite fit in the more gentle side of God paradigm, and yet, if we think about it, they are full of love.

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