Does anybody remember the call-in radio show with Dr. Laura? For a while, Laura Schlessinger had a very popular radio advice program where she told people exactly what she thought about their behavior and how they should fix themselves. She often didn’t let the caller get to the actual question before she started telling them … Continue reading –>
We humans are a funny bunch. We love to talk about fairness and justice and everybody getting what they deserve – just as long as we get to decide just what that means. Jonah is a prime example. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the folks there that if they don’t make some … Continue reading –>
“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of … Continue reading –>
My father was a sculptor. His medium of choice was wood. He was also one of the most patient men in the world. Anybody who asked for a lesson would immediately find themselves situated behind a fresh piece of wood, holding a chisel. The very first thing my father would tell everyone is, “Always cut … Continue reading –>
The truth is, almost every single one of us knows that we need to change at least one specific behavior because it is harmful. Maybe it’s smoking, drinking, over-eating, or maybe it’s not exercising. Whatever the behavior is, we know, usually without any doubt, where that behavior will lead, and yet, we continue along our … Continue reading –>
“Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.” William S. Stoddard “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 You probably remember a man named Ted Kaczynski – the Unabomber. He’s the man who used … Continue reading –>
Have you seen it? The head-bob and the eye-roll? You, the adult, have just said something that your teen has deemed – uh, less than intelligent or, at least, not pertinent to his or her current life situation. I hate to admit, though, that I have also performed that little operation as well. Usually just … Continue reading –>
Do you remember the Charlie Brown Halloween special? Linus, Lucy’s little brother, spends the entire program going on about the Great Pumpkin. He tells everybody he meets about how the Great Pumpkin will appear. He even convinces Charlie Brown’s little sister Sally to wait in the pumpkin patch with him, while all the other kids … Continue reading –>
Several years ago, when we were all much younger, I was taking my older son, KC to his first cello lesson with a new teacher. I think he was in the third grade, and my younger son, Justin, was in second grade. If this hadn’t been the first lesson with this teacher, I would have … Continue reading –>
“And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.” Genesis 2:15 A few years ago, when we were hearing quite a bit about lowering our carbon footprints, my kids and I had an ongoing joke. Because there seemed to be such a … Continue reading –>
Back in college, I remember friends who spent long hours debating whether or not, in a wedding ceremony, the individual candles that were used to light the unity candle should be blown out after lighting said unity candle. They wanted to make sure the symbolism was just right. It was a few years before all … Continue reading –>
Do you remember that old circus trick? The performer would have about five sticks standing up straight and he’d put a plate on the end of each of the sticks and start it spinning so that the centrifugal force would hold the plate up and on the end of the stick. As long as the … Continue reading –>
I’m not sure what you call them in your neck of the woods, but where I grew up they were called sticker burs – little globes of pricklies that can cause large amounts of pain to the barefooted and the four-footed. I’ve heard them called sand burs. They’re not like the polite but troublesome burs … Continue reading –>
In his book, The Three Edwards, Thomas Costain tells the story of three kings of England from 1272 to 1377 all of whom were conveniently and confusingly named Edward. According to a well-used illustration from Costain’s book, in the mid to late 1300′s, there was a Duke Raynald III. He was extremely overweight. He was … Continue reading –>
Where does morality come from? How do humans decide how to behave? As a Christian we see that moral behavior is a product of my belief in a Creator God. But what if a person does not believe in God? What dictates his morality? In a sermon on “Evolution and the Christian Faith,” Phillip E. … Continue reading –>