Author Archive | Charles G. Mickey

The NFL star that lost his shine, Michael Vick, was serving a 23-month prison sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation. He was once one of the highest paid players in the NFL as the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, but in July 2008 he filed for bankruptcy, claiming $16 million in assets and $20 million in debts. […]

London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji planned to propose to his sweetheart Leanne on March 14, 2008. He wanted to get the moment exactly right, but it went terribly wrong. He concealed a $12,000 ring in a helium balloon with a plan to give her a pin to pop the balloon as he popped the question. It […]

Walter Houston was a devoted Christian who died at age 91. He had been waiting on the Lord to give him clear direction about what to do with his life for 70 years. His wife in Tupelo, Mississippi, said, “He hung around the house and prayed a lot, but just never got that confirmation. Sometimes […]

McKay Hatch, 14, said, “I’ve cussed before; I’m not going to lie to you, but I try not to cuss any more.” He understands why his friends use foul language. “They just want to fit in like everybody else and they don’t know how. They figure if they cuss maybe it’s an easy way to […]

The words of this title are in bold on the back cover of a 2007 book by Michael P. Schutt. I agree with them. Do you? I’ve often referred to CTLA as “a support network for those who are swimming upstream.” On the front cover, the title is Redeeming Law, and the subtitle, Christian Calling and […]

Jesus began His Sermon on the Mount with what we call the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-12. Some call them “the essence of the essence.” If you want to know and honor Jesus, you must understand and live by these. For this devotional message, I’ve chosen the words of my 89-year-old friend Leroy Garrett on one beatitude, Matthew […]

What have you done lately for your opponents? Have you prayed for them…to lose or to do something to hurt their own cause? Or, have you helped them in some way, perhaps even loved them by desiring what is best for them? Jesus set the bar extremely high when He said, “Love your enemies and […]

All of us who followed the story were touched by the suffering caused by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar on May 3, 2008. I had to look it up to get a fix on the location east of India and Bangladesh, south of China and west of Thailand. 1.5 million people were severely affected and estimates of […]

John Acuff, attorney and CTLA member in Tennessee, wrote recently about a friend named Tom selling a diesel pickup truck. I’m guessing lots of those are for sale these days. He advertised it in the paper. The buyer called and then came to see it on Saturday. He liked it enough to offer $250 less […]

Nick Santonastasso entered his drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey on the theme of family values. His drawing showed a tree and above it were the words, “The roots of a family are…” Beneath the tree, the root system spelled out the final word of the message, “Love.” He won the contest and […]