Thanksgiving is upon us. In our family, Thanksgiving is one of the three big holidays; Christmas and Easter are the others. As much of the family as possible gathers for those three holidays. If people cannot attend, Julie and I usually spend another day with them within a week or so of the big celebration. … Continue reading Thanksgiving
kids
Generations
I overheard a conversation between a mother and her twelve-year-old daughter about ten years ago. The scene was a parade. A local church had a float in the parade with a man on a cross. "Why is that man hanging on that cross?" "That's church stuff. You don't need to worry about that." Something to … Continue reading Generations
Church Attendance
Nearly everyone has attempted to hit a baseball. With the little guys, we'll place the ball on a T but give them the same instructions as older kids being pitched too - keep your eye on the ball, swing level, choke up on the bat, and so on. Without practice, the little guys will never … Continue reading Church Attendance
How To Live A Quiet Life
2 Chronicles 20:30, "So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about." Often, we describe life as noisy. Many things are confusing, complicated, and nerve-wracking. Problems overwhelm the soul. "When will it ever end!" is a cry often heard. Illnesses, crime, stress, financial woes, relationship problems, the heartaches involved … Continue reading How To Live A Quiet Life
Stuff Or Saviour?
Thanksgiving is past, and there is now less than a month until Christmas. At a recent local Thanksgiving parade, a bunch of people in elf costumes walked in the parade. A mother said to her child, "Why all the elves? Christmas isn't about elves. Christmas is all about Santa Claus!" What momma said reminded me … Continue reading Stuff Or Saviour?
I Pray The Answer Is Not What I Think It Is.
The technological differences stand out more than anything else when thinking of yesteryear. But let us set technology aside and look at how things have changed. I was a kid in the 1960s and a teenager in the 1970s, so my vantage point comes from that period. The school year ran from Labor Day until … Continue reading I Pray The Answer Is Not What I Think It Is.
Giving Thanks
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18. The Thanksgiving edition of this column is usually an attempt to have people see that Thanksgiving had changed from a day of thankfulness to God to "Turkey Day" surrounded by materialism. Hopefully, this would … Continue reading Giving Thanks
Redeeming The Time
The new century used to seem so far away. Back in grade school, around fifty years ago, my classmates and I would talk about the arrival of the year 2000 and how old we would be. To an eight-year-old, that magical age of forty seemed like an eternity away. As a school child of the … Continue reading Redeeming The Time