Season 9, Episode 14, Scars

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

Have you ever been betrayed in a way that makes it difficult for you to trust anyone?  And if you have been in a place where you don’t trust, has it been hard to take risks with other people?

If you answered yes to these questions, you aren’t alone. Nothing erodes trust like betrayal. And, when you have a hard time trusting people, it is very hard to have healthy relationships with people. It is also hard to take chances, because you always fear that betrayal will happen again

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Season 9, Episode 13, Chokepoint

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

Is violence the only way to solve problems?  If you are a parent, you have inevitably had to deal with this. But let’s face it, if you are a human being you have had to deal with this too.

Recently my 13-year-old son asked me about how to deal with a situation with a bully. Now, I must say that most of his friends’ parents have given him different advice than I did. Most of his friends have been told to just hit the bully as hard as you can and they will leave you alone. I will even admit that sometimes that advice works. But that is not the advice that I gave my son. What I told him to do was to

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Season 9, Episode 12, Guardians

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

Have you ever had a friend say something to your face, that you found out later was a blatant lie. I am not talking about omissions (which are also lies). I am talking about when person intentionally tries to deceive you. What does that do to the relationship?

In my experience, nothing kills relationships faster than lies. I believe that this is because relationships are built on trust… and nothing kills trust more than deception.

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Season 9, Episode 11, Bounty

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

Are there things that you have done that you just couldn’t live with? Maybe you stood by and watched while someone was hurt in front of you.  Or maybe you actually hurt someone and you can’t get it out of your mind.

In my life, I know that there are plenty of these things.  But if I lived in the universe of The Walking Dead, the answer might be a little different. When danger lurks in every corner, and people aren’t always what they seem to be, you might have to make some more difficult choices than most of us have to do in our real lives. And let’s face it, probably none of us have to decide whether to trade the lives of a young abused girl in exchange for the lives of our friends

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Season 9, Episode 10, Omega

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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Cassady McClincy as Lydia – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

By Thom McKee

Years ago I ran into a guy who wrote The Walking Dead fan fiction. I was in mid-town Manhattan, of all places, and I got into a conversation with a guy who had written over 200 separate stories about characters from the The Walking Dead.

Now I love The Walking Dead, but I don’t love it that much.

I love watching the show, talking about the show and even writing about the show. But I can’t imagine taking the time to write 200 stories about the show that most people will never read (simply because no one can legally publish fan fiction for the masses).

As I was talking with this guy, he told me how most of

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Season 9, Episode 9, Adaptation

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

Have you ever stood in a place where previously you did something horrible? Maybe things have changed in your life since you were in that place, but going there brought back some vivid memories. Perhaps, unwelcome memories.

Not long ago, I was speaking to a veteran who suffers from PTSD. He told me that he had done some terrible things during wartime and that over time, the memories never faded. But things got even worse for his PTSD when he took a vacation with his family to the country where

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Season 9, Episode 8, Evolution

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Jonathan McKee
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Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

By Thom McKee

Have you ever noticed that there are some things about teenagers that seem to be universal? We spend a lot of time talking about all of the things that are changing for teenagers, but sometimes we forget to notice the things that stay the same.

About a month ago, my wife and I were in Israel and Jordan, and one of the things that we noticed was how similar the teens were to our teens back home. It didn’t matter whether they were Palestinian or Israeli, they still rolled their eyes when their parents told them to do something. Or they still sighed in disbelief when someone would say something that they thought was stupid or uncool

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Season 9 Episode 7, Stradivarius

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Jonathan McKee
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Dan Folger as Luke – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

By Thom McKee

Why do humans spend time creating art and then sharing it with each other? There is no real practical reason for this. It doesn’t help us find shelter, food, water or any of the things that we need to survive. It also doesn’t provide any of the things that we need to continue our species. But every civilization, whether in war or in peace does this. You can find art and music in virtually every culture in every civilization in all of recorded history.

If you look at our culture, the creation of art and music are usually things we do in our spare time. But a select few individuals are paid to make or teach art. And in some cases, people are paid extremely well to make art or music

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Season 9, Episode 6, Who Are You Now?

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

We live in a dangerous world.  We see stories of human violence on the news daily.  Many people groups around the world live in open hostility or in fear of their neighbors.  But, as Christians, how are we supposed to treat outsiders who want to join us but could be a potential threat?

Should we keep them out, or do we let them join us?

Do we only let in those who are like us, or do we risk becoming a more diverse culture?

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Season 9, Episode 5, What Comes After

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Jonathan McKee
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By Thom McKee

We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘Blood is thicker than water,’ as a reference to family and its importance. But what is family?

Is it only those in our lives related to us by blood? Or step out further than that – by marriage? Can family exist beyond these bloodlines or marital ties?

I’ve known many people in my life who aren’t close to any “blood” relatives, and whose marriages have ended in breakup or serious dysfunction. I’ve also known people whose loyalties to their “family” have been disrupted and shattered by sexual and physical abuse. What did family mean to my friend’s dad who lost his entire blood family in the Holocaust and was adopted by a loving set of strangers? Or my friend in Africa who is raising a girl as his own daughter whose biological parents died of AIDS?

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