I know it’s risky to use a title like this. The reality is that if I live for several more years I may not be able to remember the things I really want to. My mother had severe dementia in her later years, and while there is no guarantee that I will follow in her footsteps, there is the real possibility that I might. I still want to share some things with you that I hope I never forget.  hey are very special to me and were brought to my remembrance this last week by the first thing on my list. I hope I never forget: The feeling I had when I…

Maybe the most often-quoted Chinese proverb is, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Nearly every time I have heard that proverb used, it has been in an encouraging way, but have we ever stopped to consider that the same statement is true in a negative sense, as well. If we ever start down a sinful path, we could find ourselves lost and without hope in some addiction or massive life upheaval due to that sin. In the mid-1400s, the nation of Portugal was sending out explorers to nearby islands to try to find land to take over and resources to use. One island was named…

Recently, I was reading a review of a book written by a man who, apparently, was basically recounting some of his childhood memories. Specifically, the memories dealt with a family tradition of loading up in a station wagon and taking off for a vacation destination. A combination of the high cost of flying, the size of the family, and the family’s financial status made traveling by road more economical and sensible than traveling by air.  That changed as the years went by. According to the review I read, “Flying became so cheap that eventually even [the father] springs for a vacation by air.” What I found most interesting about the review was a…

The little book of Habakkuk is one that is rarely studied, but that I greatly enjoy. The message of the book is one that is timeless. I am preparing to teach for several weeks on this book, and so I’ve been trying to do some reading and studying. Though I have taught the book before, there is still more preparation to do, because this book contains so many nuggets of truth. One of those is something that you may have noticed and found quite obvious before, but that my brain just had not registered. It is at the very end of the book, as the prophet Habakkuk writes his beautiful…

I was sitting and contemplating what I could write for my post this week. All I could think about was the studying I needed to be doing for the lessons I am presenting at Polishing the Pulpit. Then it hit me – why not just write about PtP! I’m sure most of you know what this gathering is, but if you haven’t had the privilege of attending, or even if you have attended, I would like to share some of my thoughts with you about this great event. 1.  PtP is a gathering of people of “like, precious faith” — lots of people.  We tend to call it “a little taste of heaven” in…

A group in Germany was close to a new Guinness world record, when it all came tumbling down. Literally. The group of 20 people was attempting to break the record for toppling the most mini-dominoes. These dominoes are about the size of a fingernail and, as such, take a great deal of care to set up in those long lines. Over the course of about two weeks, the group had set up over 600,000 of these tiny dominoes and were very close to their record-breaking attempt. When a fly landed on one of the dominoes, toppling virtually the entirety of their work. [Source] A fly! Can you imagine the frustration? There…