   Georgia preacher Fred Craddock describes how his ancestors used to go out walking, usually on a Sunday afternoon back when the stores were closed that day; and they called it “going marveling.”  Marveling.  They would look for unusual rocks, pretty little wild flowers, shells, four-leafed clovers, brightly colored bird feathers, maybe even a […]
“We should devote 364 days a year to being thankful and set aside only one day for grumbling and complaining.” ————————    Fulton Ousler (1893-1952) was a journalist, author of many novels (including The Greatest Story Ever Told), and editor of the Reader’s Digest.  He wrote in one of his books about Anna, born into slavery
2826) “Much Obliged, Dear Lord” Read More »
       (…continued)  We can easily see the foolishness of Jimmy in the story.  He said he was independent of his parents, and he said he did not need them anymore.  But he still sat at their table, ate the food his mother prepared, watched the TV his dad bought, slept in a home
2813) Jimmy (part two of two) Read More »
      There was once a five year old boy named Jimmy.  He had a mother and a father who loved him very much.  He also had a three year old brother and a baby sister.  Jimmy had a normal family and he was a normal five year old.    One day,
2812) Jimmy (part one of two) Read More »
   Shown above is the logo of the American Medical Association.  It is a snake, wrapped around a pole.  Of all the things doctors do and work with, why would the AMA pick a snake as the logo for their association?  People don’t like snakes.  And what do snakes have to do with doctors,
2807) Snakes and Healing (a) Read More »
    (…continued) Sometimes, when very ill, we will pray for a miracle of healing. The greatest miracle, however, is that every single second of our lives, the body is healing itself, renewing itself, defending itself from infections, and strengthening itself. This great miracle of continuous healing is going on in each of us, all the
2774) Looking for Miracles (c) Read More »
Night after night, for several weeks, Mitch prays to the Lord that he would win the lottery, earnestly pleading with God, telling Him that he is facing financial ruin without that money. Week after week, he does not win anything, and his situation and his prayers become ever more desperate. Finally, one night in the
2749) Winning the Lottery Without Buying a Ticket Read More »
   On July 25, 2008 Randy Pausch died at the age of 47.  He was a Computer Science professor at Columbia University and had been in the news several times in the year before his death.  What has made him famous was a lecture he gave at his university, a lecture that has now
2709) Quality or Quantity? (a) Read More »
By Lutheran pastor David G. Johnson, The Road Once Traveled, 1991, pages 36-38 (adapted).    My grandmother, Annie, had real difficulty accepting a compliment or even “thank you.”  She would respond with denials.  “Oh, no,” she would protest, “it was nothing.”  The cookies which everyone thought were terrific, the “melting in your mouth” variety, just had not
2708) When Are We Most Thankful? Read More »
   G. K. Chesterton wrote an imaginative poem about a man who wakes up to a day in this world.  He is not born into it, so he does not have several years of life and experiences behind him. He just wakes up, fully grown and fully alive to a day in the midst
2704) “You Mean I Get Two?!” Read More »
