Month: September 1994

A New Edition

Is death the absolute end of human existence? Not according to Ben Franklin. While scholars differ as to what he believed, there is no dispute that he believed firmly in the resurrection of the body. This epitaph he composed for himself:

Strange Territory

When our son Stephen was eight, he was invited to stay overnight at a cousin’s house. It was his first time away from home and it all sounded like an exciting adventure. But when we got ready to leave, he started getting that homesick feeling! With tears glistening in his eyes and his voice quavering, he cried, “Mommy, I don’t feel so good. I’d better go home with you.”

The Bible And Society

Bible reading and the teaching of Christian values are no longer permitted in many school systems in the Western world. This is not the case in Eastern Europe, however.

Who Gets Our Kids?

When Hannah dedicated Samuel to God, she meant business. She didn’t just take him to the temple for dedication; she left him there. She turned him over to Eli to bring him up in God’s service.

Holiness Isn’t Contagious

Evil is like a contagious disease. Just as one person coughing in an airplane cabin can infect all the passengers, evil seems to spread among a group.

One Sacrifice

Journalist Jill Neimark wrote an article titled “Shaman in Chicago” about her very unconventional uncle.

A Little Foolish

It was a clearcut case of arson. The perpetrator had torched his own home. But he would never be brought to justice. Why? The criminal was a jackdaw, a member of the crow family. He had picked up a red-hot cigarette and dropped the “prize” into his nest.

Samaritan Kindness

In her book Kindness: Reaching Out to Others, Phyllis J. Le Peau relates this story: “Some seminary students were asked to preach on the story of the Good Samaritan. When the hour arrived for their sermon, each one was deliberately delayed en route to class. As the students raced across campus, they encountered a person who pretended to be in need. Ironically, not one of the students stopped to help.” Le Peau commented, “After all, they had an important sermon to preach.”

Little By Little!

When I was a little girl, my mother gave me her prized “reader” to help me learn, just as it had helped her years earlier. I loved one particular story, never dreaming how much it would affect me years later.