I don’t know anyone who has a fondness for a dry, ‘stale’ anything. A stale joke isn’t funny. For me, a stale cup of coffee isn’t even drinkable. Stale air isn’t fit to be breathed. And any way you slice it, stale bread is, well, stale. A stale marriage may be ‘on its last leg.’…
My wife and I used to frequent a tiny little restaurant in our town that made great omelets. The walls of that restaurant were peppered with sage and salient sayings written on small cards—diversions that occupy the customers until the food arrived. There must be dozens of those little sayings throughout the restaurant, almost everywhere…
It’s been a few years ago, now, that my wife and I joined some friends of ours in attending a children’s theater production about the sinking of the Titanic. Each person who entered the theater that night received a separate playbill with an actual name printed on it, which corresponded to a real person who…
I went to the doctor the other day for a check-up. I’m not sick, but I don’t want to get sick, either. And one of the best ways to avoid a serious illness that might be sneaking up on me is getting a reasonably regular examination from my trusted doctor. He had a few things…
When I was a little boy, I heard a story I’ve never forgotten; a story I thought at the time was hilarious, but now I see as a somewhat poignant picture of an ‘all-too-often-lived-out-faith.’ It’s a tale of two words, you might say: ‘Fortunately’ and ‘Unfortunately.’ It seems that a man decided to do something…
My wife bought me a metal detector a couple of years ago for my birthday. I told her I wanted one, and she being the great wife that she is, went to a local store and got me a really cool looking model. I could hardly wait to put the batteries in it, and give…
I read again, recently, a somewhat sad but true story about a guy named George. By all accounts, he was a man who loved God, and as a theologian and pastor, he was tremendously gifted with an ability to express deep spiritual insights on God’s love and grace. To those who heard him preach, it…
At our house, one of the members of our family who plays a unique role in the dynamics of our lives is Scooter, the dog. He’s a small, friendly-natured guy who’s a fixture, really, and part of the everyday routine we enjoy. He’s a rescue dog we got from our local pet store. He usually…
Most everyone knows the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan in Luke, chapter 10. One man beaten and robbed and in bad shape is along the path of three guys who individually happen by. But only one of them — the guy we now identify as the Good Samaritan stops to help the injured…
Sometimes, I get words in my head that I can’t seem to get rid of. You take, for example, the word ‘always.’ Always is another way of saying, ‘all the time,’ for most people. I could say I always take the same route to work. I’ve noticed that I always put my left shoe on…