In May of 2018, Johanna Giselhall visited her local tattoo artist in Kyrkhult, Sweden and had him intertwine the names of her two children onto her arm. After the session was over, Johanna realized that “Kevin” had been misspelled “Kelvin” with the permanent ink. She said, “My heart stopped and I thought I was going…
Never criticize your spouses’ inability to make good choices. Remember, that you are one of them––Author unknown Choosing between two or more alternatives can be difficult for some people. It may be that they have been hurt by making poor choices in the past and do not want to make the same mistakes again. On…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller A story is told about the head of a shoe company who sent his most experienced salesman to a remote island to see if there was a market for shoes there. The salesman reported…
Jesus often used a parable to illustrate a point. These stories were meant to make it easier for the people to whom He was speaking to understand and remember the point he was trying to make. Pastors today sometimes have differing opinions about what some of those stories really mean. In Matthew 13:45-46 we read…
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau In other words, looking gives the brain an impression of the scene, but seeing requires interpretation. Knowing what we have seen involves bringing our own point of view and experience into play. This is why eyewitnesses often have very different stories…