By Mike Vandermause This past week my wife, Cindy, and I bought a pop-up camper. We had been talking about doing this for years, but there was always a good excuse to put it off. Yet the dream never died. Rather than staying at a boring hotel when traveling, we prefer the adventures of being...
By Troy Murphy It did not take me long this morning to get ready to face the world, but I did have some priorities: Look good and put together. Or another way to say it is, cover whatever would be embarrassing and weak. I repeat this process daily. It’s like I have a built-in defense...
By Mike Vandermause Years ago in my former profession as a sports journalist covering the Green Bay Packers, reporters would be ushered down from the press box to the sidelines at Lambeau Field for the final minutes of home games. That gave writers like me easy and quick access to the locker...
By Mike Vandermause We used to call them “gut busters.” Every Monday and Wednesday during my four-year tenure as a University of Wisconsin middle distance runner, we would get put through the ringer in practice. The grueling workouts devised by our coach were difficult, even...
By Mike Vandermause It will be 44 years in May that I became part of God’s family. I grew up believing I had to earn God’s favor by doing good works and engaging in religious acts of piety. But as an eighth grader, in the spring of 1972, I learned for the first time that the...
By Mike Vandermause Sadly, I used to believe that showing emotion was a sure sign of weakness. Staying cool, calm and collected was a badge of honor. Keeping a stiff upper lip was imperative. You could never let anyone see you sweat. I once believed that if I had struggles, I kept them...
By Mike Vandermause I love the first four words in Rick Warren’s devotional book “What On Earth Am I Here For?" It’s not about you. That phrase screams in stark contrast to just about every message we hear today from the world. We are told constantly that life is all about...
