With the hot Louisiana sun cooking my back, I crawled on my belly for what seemed like hours. A tiny bird perched on a low-hanging branch was my target. With my “Daisy Red Rider” B-B gun and all the skill a seven-year-old can muster, I took steady aim and squeezed the trigger. And just like that, it was over! Or was it?

As I admired my trophy on the ground, I was surprised by my dad’s voice. “Now what?” he said.

There she stood against a backdrop of drab gray. Her hair was somewhere between brown and dishwater blonde and somewhat unkempt. Her eyes were striking - a slightly muted translucent blue-gray that could go green given the right surroundings. This teenage image of innocence held a sign I would have otherwise ignored, except for the questions she held in her eyes.

I stopped in my tracks at the words smeared in gold on her black and crumpled cardboard. It said: "THERE IS NO GOD."

Coming home late one night after extensive travels, something strange happened as I leaned in to kiss my three-year-old "good night." His chubby little hands shot out from under the covers and squeezed my cheeks. His eyes searched every detail of my face…

It’s no secret! Our modern Christmas is getting in the way of the real Christmas.

On the church sign at the corner- “Church dismissed for Christmas.” What, no mass for Christ on His birthday? Nothing holy on the Holyday?

That’s as ridiculous as pulling up to the ski lodge and reading a sign- “Slopes closed due to three inches of snow.” Or, at the grocery store – “Store closed due to an abundance of milk and bread.”

You can find the best-kept secret to a satisfying life in two words- "Thank you." Strange as it seems, focusing on giving something sets you up to get something. Give thanks and get fulfilled in so many ways.

Are you ever surprised when God uses something small to teach you a big lesson? More than a few times, this has happened to me. One particular time was an early sunlit morning while sitting on an elevated deck overlooking a gently flowing creek. My view was through the midsection of various hardwood limbs, and the lesson came from what was between me and the rippling water below.