Today is the last day of the London Paralympics. Sounds as if this has been an overwhelmingly emotional and inspirational marathon of the human spirit. I appreciated, early on, hearing Bob from Cornwall talk about how moved he has been by what he’s seen. Would love to hear more from Bob or any one else […]
Somewhere I picked up the idea that the Bible says, “You can learn more from your critics than your friends.” Seemed to make so much sense that enemies are more likely than our friends to point out our faults, mistakes and blind sides. But I’ve just spent some time trying unsuccessfully to find “what I […]
Labor can mean many different things: 1. The pain women endure to be the bearers of life. 2. The work done to bring in a harvest. 3. The history of workers standing together against unfair practices. Freely chosen, it can be the source of some of our greatest joys. Forced, or withheld, it can break […]
In a biography of Apple founder Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson explores the question of whether the corporate genius ever got over the fact that he was given up at birth by his biological parents. Isaacson quotes co-workers and friends who believe Steve Jobs struggled with a lifelong fear of abandonment. They recall not only his […]
The words of the Bible can be like cut flowers. The words of Jesus, like the laws of Moses, can be selectively chosen and arranged for anyone’s temporary purposes and enjoyment. But once the words are sheared from the stem and root of the story they are telling, they begin to fade in significance like […]
Was interested to read a BBC article today about an Atlanta woman who got a tattoo to celebrate her participation as a 2012 Olympic torch bearer. Only after sending a picture to a friend did she discover that her badge of honor was misspelled. The good natured woman said that, even though the parlor artist […]
How much of the world beyond has echoes, or reflections, in the world we know? While thinking about the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I’ve been thinking again about The Gambler, the Don Schlitz song that Kenny Rogers made famous in 1978. While The Gambler isn’t Bible, the perspective it offers from the mouth […]
In the early 1950s, a small Chicago-based religious sect predicted that the world was going to end on December 21, 1954. Their leader claimed to have received this information from an alien reincarnation of Jesus who went by the name of Sananda. Their prophecy caught the attention of researchers from Stanford University, who decided to […]
Among the news stories today of Egypt’s post-election crisis, Syria’s civil war, and the G20’s alarm over the Eurozone’s fiscal challenges, is Prince William’s advocacy for the endangered Rhino. Poachers reportedly can get 60,000 black market dollars per kilo (2.2 pounds) for a tusk that is believed by some to have powerful medicinal value. That […]
Have been thinking again about the surprise and irony of the longest chapter in the Bible. In the Hebrew language it was poetry, a song written to express heart felt appreciation for “the revealed teaching” of the Lord. When numbers were attached to the individual “verses” of this song, the count went to 176 ways […]
