New Reminders: Influence

In the media age, it has become common to encounter a wide variety of so-called influencers online.  They range from people who espouse crack-pot conspiracy theories to inspirational bloggers who have honorable motives to try to help us think more clearly about serious social issues.  The problem we have, is to choose wisely what we…

New Reminders: Fitness

According to Wikipedia, “Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities.  Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate, vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest along with a formal recovery plan.” “Mental fitness is defined as a state of well-being and having…

New Reminders: Comfort

I grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm.  My family worked hard.  My four older sisters all seemed to enjoy working in the fields with our dad as well as in the house and garden with Mom.  My brother, who was the fifth child, and the only boy, was always right out there with my…

New Reminders: The Purpose of Religion

Young people who have been forced to go to church and Sunday school and required to “suffer” through a year or more of confirmation classes can be forgiven for thinking that the purpose of religion is to control people, themselves in particular.  This is not to dismiss the youngsters who are sincere in their professions…

New Reminders: Meant to Be?

Whenever things just seem to click and everything falls conveniently into place, we say that it was “meant to be”.  We might think that God put everything into place, and we thank Him.  My question is: then how do you explain that, when I fly, the rule seems to be that if I have plenty…

New Reminders: Maturity

“Maturity is realizing that half of what you want to say does not need to be said.” Yung Pueblo in his self-help book and poem: The Way Out p.5 Those of us who like to talk about ourselves may need to take a step back and realize that we are never going to connect with…

New Reminders: Materialism

Amazon is now the biggest delivery business in America having overtaken FedEx in 2020 and UPS in 2022.  They delivered approximately 5.9 billion packages in 2023––roughly 18 “presents” for every single American. Wall Street Journal, 11/28/23, p.A1.   The convenience of ordering with your phone or home computer and the quick turnaround, makes it unbelievably easy…

New Reminders: Human Nature

Some of us have paused to wonder why God, who has infinite wisdom, didn’t do a better job of creating human beings.  Why didn’t He give us the capacity to think and act rationally at all times?  Why did He allow us to make fools of ourselves and do stupid stuff way too often? French…

New Reminders: Gratitude

An attitude of gratitude is the opposite of selfishness.  Those and who think that everything they have is due to their own efforts, think they are sufficient unto themselves.  They do not believe they need help with anything.  They see no reason to depend on anyone else.  That attitude might work for a while, but…