The Right Tool
I came across a fallen beech tree that would provide great firewood for the cast-iron stove in our cabin. My chainsaw cut it neatly into logs about 18 inches long. But these 20-inch diameter pieces still needed to be split. So I began to swing my ax. Nothing happened—except that the blade got stuck in the wood. My ax was sharp, but it wasn't heavy enough to split that kind of wood.
Will They See Him In Us?
On April 19, 1995, a bomb destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 169 people. On the same day, an Ohio couple, Julie and Bruce Madsen, set out on a cross-country odyssey to write a book about hope and goodness in America.
Danger Ahead!
Messages of judgment in an age of tolerance are about as welcome as a thunderstorm at a picnic.
A Strong Finish
Long-distance runners know the importance of a strong finish. They know that many races are won or lost in the final steps.
Help Them To Achieve
Newspaper columnist Jean Calmen once wrote about a teacher she called Miss K. In her youth, Calmen had been a student of Miss K's, so she sent the teacher a copy of a column she was especially proud of.
You Have A Prayer
Hopelessness. I encountered it in an embittered man who told me, "Don't try to convert me and don't pray for me. When I die, the only place I'll go is 6 feet under."
Candlelight Wisdom
While traveling in Finland, I appreciated the Finns' lavish use of candles. They never treat them as mere ornaments. Candles bring warmth and light into their homes during short winter days. The Finns know that a candle's purpose is missed unless it is burned. But candles should burn at one end only—a lesson I needed to learn.
Work That Won't Burn
My father-in-law spent 30 years helping people in the public health field. When he went to heaven at the age of 76, he left a closet full of files and a wall full of awards.
You Can Depend On Him
Prince Albert of England once visited the laboratory of a scientist named Lyon Playfair. According to Playfair's biographer Sir Wemyss Reid, as the prince and the scientist stood near a caldron of boiling lead, Playfair asked, "Has your royal highness any faith in science?"
