On this weekend between Thanksgiving and the season the Christian church celebrates as Advent, the expectation of the arrival of a Savior, I’d like to share my story with you, in hopes you may come to understand why I treasure Jesus as I do and want you to know him as well. Many years ago, on a dark, humid August... READ MORE >
Psalm 100 is a psalm for giving thanks. It goes like this: Make a joyful noiseto the LORD, all the earth!Serve the LORD with gladness!Come into his presencewith singing!Know that the LORD, he is God!It is he who made us,and we are his;We are his people andthe sheep of his pasture.Enter his gateswith thanksgivingand his courts with praise!Give thanks to... READ MORE >
The apostle Paul writes instructions to his protégé, Timothy, and includes in his pastoral directions guidance regarding the appropriate stance Christians (in particular) should take toward those in authority over them. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may... READ MORE >
Well, just a few days and it will all be over. For now at least. Men and women eager to take their place as leaders in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of positions across the country will hear from voters that they are going to get their chance. Some will succeed wonderfully. Others will fail miserably. Voters on one side of... READ MORE >
Have you noticed the colors in the trees this year? Intense. Gold. Crimson. And the blue of the sky. Clearer than usual, I think. I was wandering around the parking lot with Lucy, our Yorkshire terrier, when I spotted an aspen in the lot above our upper driveway. On this particular day, the crown of gold was particularly striking in... READ MORE >
When they unveiled The Great American Roller Coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, it was the roller coaster everybody wanted to ride. It had the longest and steepest first hill on any roller coaster of its time. I was a teenager back then. And I’ll never forget the first time I took my first ride on The Great American Roller... READ MORE >
We were walking through the pine woods and trails at camp when one of the boys called out, “Hey! Come look at this!” We turned aside as a group and walked over to where he was squatting on the ground reaching out with a stick to poke something on the ground a few inches from his sneakers. I took one... READ MORE >
“brfxxccxxmnpccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116” won’t pass in Sweden. (It’s pronounced “Albin,” by the way.) “Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii” failed in New Zealand. “@” has been rejected by Chinese officials and “Ovnis” (which means “UFO”) was banned in Portugal. The Danes have an official list of 7,000 names from which children can be named, and special permission must be acquired to deviate... READ MORE >
Paul and Larry and I loved to hit the road to Nags Head when the hurricanes were landing. We were college students, single guys with cars and time and more dollars than sense. Nags Head, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, was only a short drive from Norfolk, VA, maybe as far as Duluth from Grand Marais. We’d hear of an... READ MORE >
Did you ever have to sit at the kid’s table? Your family had some big whoopdeedo. There was a huge meal. The big table was covered with bowls of steaming, hot vegetables. There was a big platter of ham, or beef, or turkey, or maybe all three. Every chair in the house that could be used was fit closer than... READ MORE >
