Dennis R. Berry, Writer/Editor

You may not realize it, but we are in the midst of an epic battle to end all battles. A war to end all wars. Bigger than the great world wars. Bigger than anything we’ve ever seen, or can even comprehend. And the funny thing is, we can’t actually SEE it. It’s being played out all around us, each and every day, and many of us are completely clueless about its existence. See, this war is not a physical one. It’s not being fought with guns or bows or bombs. See, as scripture says in Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The fight is between God and his adversary, THE adversary, old Slewfoot himself. But that war isn’t being fought in heavenly realms. It’s being fought right here, on Earth. Why? Because WE are the prize. We.. humanity.. are at stake. Our very lives, our very souls, are up for grabs. We are d...

Once upon a time there was a man. He was all alone in this beautiful home. He had everything he could ever need. He had food. He had shelter. He had bright sunlight and fruits and flowers and animals. What he didn’t have, however, was a companion.. someone to keep him company, laugh at his stupid jokes, console him when he was sad, play pranks and hold him close. He didn’t realize it, perhaps, but this man was lonely. One day he fell asleep, and when we awoke.. well, I imagine it went a little bit like this: Man: *yawn* *stretch* “Yeah, that was a great little nap. Maybe I’ll get up and go fishing, or pick some food, maybe catch a little footba… wait.. what’s this, then? Why does my.. owwwww! My side hurts! And.. ohh.. what’s that beautiful thing over there? Looks kinda like me, except.. yeah. Hmmm.” Meet Adam. The first man. Our greatest of ancestors. The ultimate “Who’s yo daddy!” God saw that Adam was lonely and needed a helper. So, when Adam fell asleep, God took one of his rib...

According to statistics the Earth has seen almost 108 billion births. That’s quite a lot. It’s a lot of births. A lot of children, a lot of adults, a lot of people making decisions. That’s a lot of discoveries, a lot of inventions, a lot of philosophy, history and war. It’s also a lot of accomplishments. But out of all those, out of billions of accomplishments ever achieved in the history of this planet, there is one that stands out.. one that towers above all the rest. It was foretold thousands of years ago, and written down on manuscripts. It was proclaimed far and wide. It was long awaited.   “ For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~Isaiah 9:6 Out of all the things that have mattered over the course of human history, this one single birth has had the most meaning. This one child has had the biggest impact. There are appr...

Many times in life we have a tendency to try and rely on our own wits, our own warped sense of justification and morals, our own skills and knowledge. Where we go wrong, though, is failing to realize that we generally see everything through worldly eyes. Think of it like a pair of sunglasses. While the glasses are on everything is tinted, dark, foggy. We can’t exactly see clearly with this shade covering our eyes. Because of this we may misjudge things, miss things around us, or even get into accidents. This is much like our relationship with God, or faith, if you will. When we’re looking through our worldly (human) eyes, we misjudge a lot of things. We miss a lot of things around us. We even have accidents or do things we shouldn’t do. Faith, however, tends to open our eyes in a way. While we don’t necessarily see any more clearly at first, this Godly eyesight will come, as long as we have faith in God. As long as we trust Him to carry us through those things in our lives that we just...

This past year has been quite the roller coaster ride. There were lots of changes, lots of loss, and lots of gains. Next year, 2017, promises to be an amazing year for me, and there are a number of things I want to accomplish, a number of goals I want to meet, a number of.. dare I say it.. resolutions. Stop Smoking Yeah, I want to quit smoking. It’s a nasty habit, and I don’t like doing it. Not only does it make my clothes smell funky, and cost a small fortune, but it makes it harder for me to breathe. With asthma, that’s a stupid combination anyway, right? But it’s so hard to quit. I have zero motivation, zero willpower, when it comes to quitting. But, it’s something I need to do, so I’ll figure it out somehow. I’ve tried the patch, the gum, the lozenges, and even the dreaded Chantix.. twice. It was horrible, and I don’t think I want to do it again. I’ll probably have to just go.. gasp!.. cold turkey like I did before. I’ll probably go absolutely insane, too. Or piss people off when I...

Six years ago I made a decision that would impact much of the rest of my life. Most big decisions come after much thought, internal arguing and weighing pros and cons. Mine? No, mine came from a self-imposed bet, of sorts. See, a very long time ago I wasn’t a believer at all. I used to joke about religion, and swore up and down that if I ever had to walk into a Christian church, I would choose the Roman Catholic church because, as I thought at the time, it’s the most “unchristian” Christian church of all. Well, little did I know at the time how that “bet” would impact me, my decisions, and my life later on down the road. Fast forward a number of years. It was a dark and stormy..well, no. It was dark. It wasn’t actually stormy, unless you count the internal storm that was tormenting me. See, I had been going through a very rough patch in my life. I had reached a point where I didn’t really care about anyone except myself. I was lashing out at my friends, my family, and the world as a wh...

I wake up like this sometimes. I woke up with this thought running through my head this morning, in fact. I was so tired, and sleepy, and I just didn’t want to crawl out of bed. I wanted to stay there, covered with blankets, all snuggly and warm. Sure, church only lasts for an hour or so, and theoretically I could always just go back to bed when we got back home, but that’s not the point. The point is.. it’s Sunday, and I need to be at church. I mean, I really NEED to be at church. I’ve just recently, in the last 6 months, started regaining my lost faith, and I can’t afford to start backpedaling now, can I? And THAT is the point. See, it’s way too easy to just say “Okay, I’ll skip just this once. I’ll go next week. I promise.” Yeaaaaah. THAT works. Been there, done that. That’s a tough road, full of “No U-turn” signs, and once you start down it, it’s next to impossible to get back on track. It’s all to easy next week to say “Ok, I’ve already missed one week. Another week won’t really h...

Dear little me, It’s me.. you.. from the future. I need to tell you a few things. Now, don’t get scared. Don’t freak out and drop off the face of the planet. It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay. But just listen for a few minutes, and let me explain a few things to you..umm, me. Whatever. First, your childhood is going to suck. I mean, really suck. Your parents won’t want you. Your other family will treat you like shit. You’ll get abandoned time and time again. It’ll be scary. It’ll be lonely. It’ll hurt like hell. Your father will disappear. Your mother will give you away. Your uncle will drop you off in a hospital parking lot in the middle of the night and tell you to never come back home, all because he’s drunk. After your grandmother dies you’ll witness your grandfather lay on the living room floor with a shotgun and a photo of your grandmother, because he misses her. You’ll eventually end up in foster care and, for a while, it’s going to suck worse than anything you’ve ever imagined. ...

I’m a bit of a complicated person, honestly. Like most people I have a side to me that others usually don’t get to see. I don’t let them. On the exterior I’m a brash, hard, take-no-crap kind of guy. But on the inside, the part that I choose to keep hidden from pretty much everyone unless I know them very well, I’m quite different. That side of me is sensitive. It’s caring. It’s willing to do anything to make others happy. It’s willing to suffer any amount, just to see a smile, to feel loved. That side of me gets me in trouble sometimes. But it’s that side of me, though, that’s the real me. You see, the “other” me, the one most people see, is a facade, a ruse, a mask that I wear to keep from getting hurt. The mask, the “other me”, is a bland existence. It’s no fun. It’s necessary, really, because that part of me needs to keep people at a distance. That Dennis doesn’t want to open himself up to potential risk, pain or rejection. So, he simply doesn’t. He keeps everyone and everything at ...

Like many others, I sometimes relish the thought of solitude. Sometimes we all need to just get away, if only for a little while, just to collect our thoughts, regain our bearings, and just breathe. I used to think that in order to find solitude I had to push everyone away and disappear. That is, after all, the definition of the word: the state of being alone. But, I’ve learned that I don’t actually have to be alone, at least not completely, in order to find my solitude. You see, solitude is less about your surroundings and more about your state of being. I’ll share one of my favorite tips for finding that solitude, that peace, that we all so desperately need on occasion, without actually pushing people away and leaving the house, or barricading yourself in a room somewhere. The rosary. Yes, that’s right. Those Catholic prayer beads that seem to cause so much controversy among non-Catholics. The rosary, regardless of what some people may think, is a very fulfilling, very calming, very ...

Too often we tend to be rushed. We tend to hurry through life, demanding immediate gratification. And we sometimes tend to completely overlook God’s timing. If we stop to think, we know, deep down, that God works on a completely different schedule than we do. We, as humans, want what we want, and we want it now. We get so rushed sometimes that we may mistake what we think we want or need, with what God’s actual plan for us is. But we have to stop for a minute, and let God work his will in our lives. There’s no other way, honestly. Sure, we could continue on this path, rushing through, trying to mold the world to our own desires.. but this is merely a path to destruction. You see, God knows what he’s doing. Sometimes we don’t realize that. Sometimes we think we know what’s best for us. But we’re looking through human eyes, eyes tainted by corruption. We’re seeing ourselves through the eyes of the world, and not discernment. And that’s the point. We need to be able to discern and wait.. ...

You’ve probably heard it said.. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” It’s one of those common scriptures that gets thrown around, without much thought given usually. I’m guilty of that as well, honestly. I’ve heard it. I’ve quoted it, even. But I never really understood it until recently. And the amazing thing is, it means exactly what it says. There’s no hidden meaning, no thought-provoking brain-teaser involved. It simply means that, through Christ, all things are possible. Of course, you can’t really say ALL things, now can you? For instance, I can’t exactly go around robbing banks “through Christ” can I? Nor can I go on a murderous rampage, gamble away my life savings, or make a drunken idiot of myself at the bar. But, of course, as a Christian man, those things shouldn’t interest me anyway, right? No, what the scripture means is that, if I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, if I turn over everything to Him, give in to Him, let Him take charge, then yes, a...

At some point in our lives, each of us give up. For whatever reason, we just decide that we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing, and have to just give up. I’ve reached that point. Now, before you start freaking out and thinking I’m going to jump in front of a taxi or something, hear me out. When I say that I give up, I don’t mean that I’m over life. Quite the opposite, in fact. Let me explain.. For a long time I’ve tried to put myself first. I’ve tried to set my own needs, wants and desires as the most important thing in life. I’ve realized, though, that that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s been a long, hard road getting here, but now.. I’ve finally reached the point where I give up. See, I’ve been fighting God. For a long time I’ve fought God. I’ve resisted every single thing that I knew was right, simply because I didn’t want to admit wrongdoing. I didn’t want to give in to Him and lose my own self. I didn’t want to turn over the reigns to someone else, especially someone ...

You know how you have “those” friends, the ones that seem to be, for the most part, inseparable? The ones that, no matter what you have going on, they’re there? Bored on a Sunday afternoon? Go grab lunch. Nothing going on after work? Head to the bar, dance club, or restaurant to hang out and catch up? Yeah, I’ve got those friends, too.   We are the three musketeers. The three amigos. It would probably be better to call us the three stooges, though.. Larry, Mo and the Godfather (long story). Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with these guys. They’re absolutely nuts. And then I remember.. oh yeah. So am I. That’s why they’re both my “brother from another mother.” It doesn’t matter that sometimes we get on each others’ nerves. It doesn’t matter that sometimes I even can’t stand at least one of them. It doesn’t matter at all. Because at the end of the day, I trust these guys to have my back when it really counts. I’m not completely sure why, but I do. It’s great having friends like thi...

I’ve learned a lot during my lifetime. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, and even more over the past few months. It seems like I never stop learning. So what have I learned, you may ask? I’ve learned things about heartache and happiness. I’ve learned about love and loss. I’ve learned about anger, hatred and forgiveness. I’ve learned about myself, and the world around me. I’ve learned to be myself, no matter what. Heartache and Happiness Throughout life, we all end up with heartache. We find ourselves struggling with survival, both physically and emotionally. Sometimes it may seem as if we just aren’t going to make it. But, we’re stronger than we think sometimes. Sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction to figure it out. And sometimes, it takes something drastic to make us realize what we’re doing. But there is always a light at the end of that proverbial tunnel. There is always happiness waiting around the corner. We just have to reach for it. We just have ...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. He created the fox, the rabbit, the seagulls and the doves. He created the stars in the night sky. He created the oceans, with their rolling waves lapping gently at the shores. He created the Garden of Eden, a place of immense peace and beauty. Then he created man.. and we did what we do best: we screwed it all up! Did we mean to mess things up so badly? Had Eve known what would happen when she gave in to the serpent’s temptation, would she have made a different decision? Had Adam known what would come of listening to her, would he have chose differently? I’d like to think that, yes, today’s world would be much different. Unfortunately I don’t really believe that. As a species we are impossible. We can’t seem to help ourselves. If there is any possible way to screw something up, we will find it. It’s human nature. It’s our fatal flaw. The same can be said for our personal lives. They start so simple and carefree, so innocent. But...