There is something both sad and ironic about intentionally creating physical separation between those in our communities. We still have other ways to connect…calls, cards, FaceTime, texts, emails, Skype, etc. However, for the follower of Christ, we desire proximity to...
A woman spent her entire life as a worrier. As a small child, she sat in her father's lap and would momentarily lay aside her fretting. He would take his thumb and smooth the wrinkles on her forehead. "Now, keep it smooth," he would say. "Don't let it pucker again." But it seemed to help little...
How dry is dry? Elijah predicted years in Israel (1 Kings 17.1) when there would be neither dew nor rain. (Now, that’s pretty dry!) After this revelation to Ahab, God sent the prophet to a brook where he found water to drink. There, he was fed by ravens who brought him food day and night...
OK, I admit it. I am a name-dropper. The Urban Dictionary defines a name-dropper as a vain person who is insecure about his popularity, and must resort to the inclusion of the names of popular people who have no relevance to the conversation in order to achieve a self-gratifying level of social...
He was an orthopedic doctor (and renowned author) who chose his patients among the “dalits” or the untouchables of India. Paul Brand was born in southwestern India in 1914 India to missionary parents. Alongside his wife and physician colleague, Margaret, he spent a lifetime working...
There are things about Mrs. Mitchell’s Sunday School class of my youth that are quite dull in my memory bank. However, some things are remembered well, like her seasonally themed cupcakes, her warm embraces, and her dramatic story-telling. One Sunday’s presentation seemed especially...
Perhaps it was a TV episode from The Red Skelton Show of my youth. (For those without a clue, Red Skelton was a popular comedian/performer for seventy years and entertained three generations of Americans in film, radio, and television.) It’s the classic comedy routine that begins with a...
Over the past weekend, I joined a large television audience to watch the USGA golf championship taking place in Carmel, California. There was much to admire in the telecast. The course, itself, is stunningly beautiful as it stretches along cliffs adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. Aggressive...
I’ve been thinking about “home”. Several things seem to be prompting these thoughts: recently reconnecting with life-long friends in planning our 50th High School Graduation Reunion, yesterday’s conversation with my 95 year old Aunt Martha (the only living sibling of my...
My original pick to win the March Madness national basketball tournament has managed to advance to the final game. As I write, it’s 12 hours until tip-off for the Monday, April 8, evening championship contest. “Think your team is going to win it all?” asked a fellow round-ball...
