When My Effort is Not Showing Up With The Results I Expect!
Pushing Against the Rock PARABLE: Your call is to obedience as opposed to your vision of success.
That Just Means a Lot
Nine year old, Jeffery* looked up to his father, an avid motorcycle rider and motocross enthusiast. They had their moments of tension along the way, as all fathers and sons do, but the common ground of the motorcycle riding and repair routine kept them engaged with one another. Jeffery loved the things his dad was [...]
Christmas Eve, 1967
By: John Cragg It was December 1967. I was in fourth grade. My father was the pastor of an inner-city church in Newark NJ. That year I had watched tanks roll by my house from my living room window. The city was still tense from the racial strife. My father gathered the family around [...]
The Gangster Gripped by God
I met James* when he was eight. He was a solid square-shouldered, verbally gifted boy with a beaming smile. He lived with his mother, whom he adored, and his brothers. His stepfather had just been shot dead on the stoop of his home on the most violent block of Long Island. James was a [...]
The Shipbuilder’s Agenda
Right after I finished the third grade, my dad moved us from a wealthy suburban community to the inner city, where he accepted a call to pastor the Roseville Presbyterian Church in Newark, NJ. My parents chose to send me to the local school a block from our house. My fourth grade class had 44 [...]
A Tale of Two Journals – Bud and Me
Bud, February 2017 My name is Bud. I'm ten. As soon as school is over for the day, I start running. I want to be the first one out so I can sit behind the bus driver that way the kids in the back won't tease me. As soon as the bus stops, I run [...]
The Crow and The Corona
Why should Aesop have all the fun?by John CraggThere was a hurt crow in my backyard. The fact that I took note of this is "Corona New". He hopped behind my shed as I walked out. As I neared the back of the yard, I noticed another crow was on my fence yelling at me. To [...]
The Virus That Goes Boom in the Night!
by John Cragg Executive Director, Long Island Youth Mentoring I was 23. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Not a cloud in the Spokane Washington skies. Kay and I were newlyweds with four months to our credit. We had been invited to a church picnic by my boss, so of course, we went. It was a [...]
THE THANKSGIVING INTRUDER
The three hours of Thanksgiving aromas had gathered in the laughing clamor and produced a feast on a beautifully adorned table. I was carving the turkey, responding to my three children's requests for drum sticks, when I heard a noise in the back of the house. I handed the knife to my dad and went [...]