   Pastor H.B. Charles tells the following story about a woman he knew who showed up at church and prayed the same simple prayer.  “O Lord, thank you Jesus,” she prayed week after week.  The kids at church would start laughing every time she opened her mouth because they knew it would be the […]
3167) Thanking God in Difficult Circumstances Read More »
Seattle Seahawks Linebacker Derick Hall was born at 23 weeks. He had no heartbeat and doctors gave him a one percent chance of survival. But his mom refused to take him off life support. Now he is a Super Bowl champion. After the victory, Derick Hall reflected on the moment using a word that has
Fernando Mendoza said after leading his team to the NCAA football championship: “I really can’t thank God enough, and I give Him all the glory because He’s meant so much to myself and to my teammates and my family.”  Mendoza’s gratitude exemplifies the message of today’s meditation. ——————————- Deuteronomy 8:10-18a — When you have eaten
3134) Who Deserves the Credit? Read More »
   Sigird Undset (1882-1949) was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.  Her parents were atheists, but still they had her baptized in the Lutheran church because it was customary in that day, whether or not the parents had any faith (sometimes that happens yet today).  She spent
3124) A Thousand Little Gleams Read More »
   In 1963, when he was twenty-one, Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was diagnosed with ALS and given just two years to live.  It might be that Hawking’s illness helped him become the noted scientist he became.  Before the illness, Hawking had been a lazy student.  He still did well because he was so intelligent, but
3112) Reduced Expectations Read More »
   Last Tuesday Ben Sasse, age 53, wrote a “Letter to America” announcing that he had been diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. Sasse served as a Republican Senator from Nebraska from 2015-2023.    He resigned from the Senate in 2023 to become the president of the University of Florida. The following year, he
3107) “Friends… I Am Going to Die” Read More »
   (…continued) Our two kids were getting ready for bed one night, and my daughter was all excited. She wanted to show me her new underwear. It was not just any old underwear; it was Strawberry Shortcake underwear. Strawberry Shortcake was a line of dolls in the 1980’s that grew into a huge marketing
3080) Two Old Sermon Illustrations (2/2) Read More »
   One day, many years ago, my grade school son said to me firmly, “Dad, I don’t want you talking about me in your sermons anymore.” My daughter quickly agreed with her brother. “Yeah, me neither,” she said, “I have friends in church. Don’t you remember what it was like when you were our
3079) Two Old Sermon Illustrations (1/2) Read More »
Dennis Prager (1948- ) is a wise man. He has written brilliantly on many subjects– religion, relationships, politics, ethics, economics, science, culture, history, and, the key to happiness– which, he says, is gratitude. In this piece, he describes one of the many obstacles to gratitude, which is what he calls the “Missing Tile Syndrome.” Perhaps
3077) Are You Afflicted With ‘Missing Tile Syndrome’? Read More »
Comic strip above by Lynn Johnston, For Better or Worse, 1993. (Hearing about the lives of others can give us the perspective we need to be thankful.) ******************************** From Both Sides of the Desk, by Tom Melchior, writing about lunchtime at a school in Puerto Rico that he taught at in 1959: Â Â Â Students
3076) Thinking About Being Thankful Read More »
