In 1997, the book Into Thin Air became a bestseller. Author Jon Krakauer chronicled the disastrous 1996 Mt. Everest expedition that resulted in the deaths of eight climbers. Charlotte Fox was a part of that summit. She made it to “the top of the world” and survived the harrowing journey down. On May 24, 2018, Fox fell down the stairs of…
There are many stories in the Bible that demonstrate the concept of mercy. The first one that comes to mind is the story of the Good Samaritan. That story is particularly instructive in light of the history of the time. Jews and Samaritans were not on the same social level. The Samaritans were considered inferior.…
In recent years parenting has been tagged with plenty of labels: tiger, helicopter, elephant, free-range, etc. The school year of 2018-19 began with a new moniker, “lawnmower parent.” A post that went viral on We areTeachers.com explained how lawnmower parents mow down all of their children’s challenges, struggles and discomforts. Editorial Director of the website, Hannah Hudson, shared…
Two teenagers were at the mall killing time until they could go see a movie at the adjoining theater. One said to the other, “Let’s buy popcorn and candy at the grocery store before we go. It’ll be a lot cheaper.” To which the other teen said, “Haven’t you seen the sign at the theater…
In a previous article in this series, the topic of hope was put into the context of the ultimate hope of life after death. In this treatment of the topic the focus is on hope as a means of dealing with the problems of everyday life, i.e., hope vs. hopelessness. A person, let’s call her…
The Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy houses Michelangelo’s statue of King David. People wait for hours to catch a glimpse of this masterpiece, which was created half a millennium ago. On their journey to the featured exhibit, tourists pass a number of unfinished statues known as Prisoners. The Hall of Prisoners displays works that Michelangelo never completed. Erupting…
Two little boys in kindergarten were walking to school. One of them noticed that a lady and a little girl had been following them. He turned to his companion and asked, “Do you know who those people are?” The other boy replied, “Yes! I think I do. Last night when my mom was tucking me…
A new Wal-Mart checkout clerk was not familiar with the colloquialisms of the region to which she had recently moved. She became exasperated when customer after customer would not answer an either/or question. One after another would say, “That‘ll be fine.” The sales associate could never tell which choice the customer was making. For example,…
Billy had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. “Good!” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help…
The difference between prayer and meditation is that prayer is us talking to God, and meditation is allowing God to “speak” to us. We can talk to God any time and he always hears us. On the other hand, when God talks to us we have to listen and discern His message. There in lies…