As I type these words, we are still dealing with something that most of us had never heard about a couple of years or so ago. When we did start hearing about it, most of us probably thought that it would be ancient history by now. As I recall, we were concerned at first with something called the Coronavirus. Over time, that concern was focused on something called COVID-19. I won’t pretend to be intelligent enough to explain how all of that is related. I’ll leave that to others who have a lot more information and understanding. What I do know is that it seems like we’ve been shooting at a moving target for a…

Maybe you’ve read the story behind the picture above. Apparently, the woman who is buried here was well known for her Christmas cookies. Her stock answer to anybody who asked for her recipe was, “Over my dead body.” I’m not sure that the lady had this tombstone in mind when she said this, but it seems that her family “honored her wishes.” At least I guess that it could be said that they got the last laugh. You may be familiar with other interesting inscriptions on tombstones like: There goes the neighborhood – comedian Rodney Dangerfield That’s all folks – Mel Blanc the voice of Elmer Fudd (and many other…

The annual Bible lectureship at Freed-Hardeman University is one of the highlights of the year for Donna and me. We were pleased to learn that we were going to be able to attend in person once again this year. It was helpful that, during the height of the concerns over Covid, it was available online, but that’s just not the same as being there in person. As is always the case, when we returned home, we had a lot of pleasant memories. There were interesting, informative, and challenging lessons. There was the opportunity to be with both of our children and all of our grandchildren (at least for a few…

I think that we’ve all had the experience of trying to find something appropriate to say to somebody who is going through a really tough time. I’m sharing something that I hope will help all of us. I don’t know very much about an organization called Stephen Ministries. From what I’ve read on their website, they attempt to provide resources to be used by preachers, counselors and others who want to help people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, experiencing setbacks of their own, and/or dealing with similar situations. I am hoping that what is reproduced below might be of benefit to all of us as we…

There are times in life when something crystallizes in your mind. Sometimes it might be an insignificant detail but at other times, it hits you like a ton of bricks. Often, these realizations are not a brand new thought but an increased awareness or consciousness of something you’ve known all along.  I had one of those moments this past weekend at Challenge Youth Conference. It was a blessing to be able to help chaperone our youth group at this great event. Part of that blessing is getting to hear the lessons prepared to help build the faith of our young people, but they build the faith of older people, too!…

Invitation songs are sometimes sung a bit mindlessly. After all, most congregations only know about a dozen well-enough to sing well, so those few songs get sung over and over again. As a result, our minds are often barely engaged, even though we know they should be. However, in those songs there are some profound thoughts. One of the most profound–though it is written in very simple language-is found in the hymn “What Shall It Be?” Throughout that song, various forms of the question, “What will your answer be?” are asked. But if our minds are not engaged as we sing, we may miss the fact that the question is…