Starvation is no laughing matter. Close to a billion people go hungry annually. Statistics say a child dies of hunger in our world every five seconds. Hunger is understood to be the most extreme form of poverty, as individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. Our son Daniel has always been a picky eater. One night years ago when he was just a toddler he refused to eat even two bites of grilled chicken at suppertime. I remember this epic battle of parents versus child. My wife and I decided to go the distance. For more than 24 hours he refused to eat the…

Please do not stop reading. This post is not intended to be political. It is not intended as a commentary on the moral condition of our society. It is not written because I have an “ax to grind” about anybody involved in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings which were (are) intended to determine whether or not a particular individual is qualified to serve on the highest court in our nation.  Like most who may read these words, I have some opinions about all of those things.  However, I would like for all of us (yes including me) to think of some things that I learned. It might be more appropriate to say that I…

It has been an interesting beginning to this school year. Our town is growing and that means our school population is growing as well. One thing I keep hearing from teachers and school officials across the county is that we have more students this year from families with more challenges. That leads to challenges at school. In light of all these challenges, teachers are stretching themselves to meet the social and emotional needs of their students before we can try to work on academics. In light of that, I need to repent because of something I have said this year. Multiple times I have made the statement, “I just want…

If you live in the United States of America, or at least on the eastern half of the United States, you are probably familiar with who Florence is. We heard her name for days before she ever made her entrance into our country. We knew a great deal about her – her strength, her potential for damage, and the assurance of her arrival. We were warned over and over about what she might do when she arrived. Florence came to our country and she lived up to her reputation. She was strong and she was damaging. Many on our eastern coast are still suffering from the wind and rain damage that she brought when she…

“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” is an American comedy film that came out in 1963. I have never seen the film, but its title seems appropriate for today’s world. In fact, in my opinion, it’s only gotten “madder.” I believe there is a reason why the old Polish proverb, “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” has regained popularity. Too many of us are struggling to keep up with our daily lives and are at least trying to find the humor involved. I credit Bryan McAlister with the idea for this post from a lesson he preached this week at our Gospel Meeting. He was speaking about not being…