Christmas for most people is a festive time filled with family, friends and laughter. I remember the excitement as a child of driving around with my parents to look at the bright lights decorating homes. I recall the family gatherings where both the spirit and the belly were well-nourished. Watching Charlie Brown and Rudolf and Continue reading

I’m not a big devotee of musicals, but because both my children performed in school musicals and my wife still directs them, I’ve been exposed to a few. One of the songs that occasionally floats through my brain comes from “The Sound of Music.” Perhaps you remember Maria singing “These Are a Few of My Continue reading

We are finished decorating for Christmas. We pulled everything down from the attic, put up what we could, then returned the empty or nearly empty boxes and tubs back in the attic until it’s time to put it all away for another year. If we ever build a house, I’m going to make sure it Continue reading

Black Friday,the day after Thanksgiving, is considered to be the biggest shopping day of the year. Although the term “Black Friday” has been used in many different ways, it has come to be seen as the day when retailers get out of the red and into the black financially, meaning that they begin to make Continue reading

This past weekend my family and I drove to a wedding that I was to officiate. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a Waffle House. It wasn’t terribly busy, but it was a bit hectic with servers scurrying here and there shouting orders and laughing loudly. There was even some quasi-entertainment as the Continue reading

Beyond what you can see Is a reality more real than this Beyond what you can see There is One who holds the universe in eternal hands. Beyond what you can see There is peace in the midst of chaos Hope in the midst of hopelessness Strength in spite of your weakness Beyond what you Continue reading

None of us appreciates it when we are lied to by others. Lies erode our trust and can devastate our relationships. Lies are poisonous and destructive, and they are even more so when we begin to lie to ourselves. Lying to yourself seems to be not only counterproductive but insane, yet so many of us Continue reading

I have often heard these words attributed to Scripture: “Money is the root of all evil.” In truth, that phrase is not recorded in the pages of the Bible; instead, 1 Timothy 6:10 reads, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have Continue reading

“I have on my table a violin string. It is free to move in any direction I like. If I twist one end it responds; it is free. But it is not free to sing. So I take it and fix it into my violin. I bind it and when it is bound, it is Continue reading

I’ve had more than my share of days where nothing seemed to go right. I have a restless night trying to sleep. I spill my coffee at breakfast. I lock my keys in the house. Now I’m running late and look at the dashboard to see that I’m dangerously low on gas. I discover a Continue reading