Life's Countdown
If we live 65 years, we have about 600,000 hours at our disposal. Assuming we are 18 when we complete high school, we have 47 years, or nearly 412,000 hours to live after graduation.
To Die Is Gain
Recently, I was feeling gratitude to God for His goodness to me during the past 80 years. But as I reflected on my life, I felt grief as I recalled the day when I learned that my brother Cornelius had been killed in action during World War II. He was only 20. Unlike me, he never realized the aspirations and hopes that are part of youth. Neither did the many young people who died during the years I was a pastor. Every one of these experiences was emotionally and spiritually draining. Such grief and loss!
Free To Come Back
When I first acquired an adorable puppy named Dolly, she filled my days with frequent trips to my backyard. Then she began using these occasions to explore places I didn't want her to go. By offering her a reward, I was able to teach her to respond to my command, "Come!" But eventually, the rewards weren't enough to get her to come back to me. So I bought a leash on a reel that gives Dolly a safe amount of freedom, but gives me the option of "reeling her in" when she ventures too far.
Who's In The Picture?
My daughter came home from school one day with a brain teaser. See if you can figure it out.
In His Time
I know of a church that has desperately needed to expand for a number of years. Many of the members have had a desire to build for quite some time and are ready to press ahead with the project. There are others, however, who believe that because the church hasn't been able to raise the full amount necessary to pay for the project, the timing isn't right.
Into My Heart
My granddaughter Melanie was wandering and wondering her way around our living room, looking at her grandmother's Christmas "set-arounds." One was a small olive wood crèche on our living room coffee table.
A Gift For All Ages
In the early 19th century, a war-weary world was anxiously watching the march of Napoleon. All the while, babies were being born.
The Child
Some years ago my wife and I took our grandchildren to the Festival of the Trees, a local event in which businesses and organizations decorate Christmas trees, competing with one another in various categories. The display is magnificent.
Make A Difference
History is often portrayed as a sequence of catastrophes. But Thomas Cahill's projected 7-volume set called Hinges Of History seeks to "retell the story of the Western world as the story of the great gift-givers." Volume 3 deals with Jesus of Nazareth, whom Cahill calls "the central figure of Western civilization." Did Jesus make a difference in the world? Cahill's conclusion is a resounding yes!
