Family
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You Don’t Love If…
First Corinthians 13 is a beautiful passage. In context, the description of love is meant to show the church at Corinth a “more excellent way” than even the miraculous spiritual gifts with which they were endowed. With the age of miracles passing, though, this description of love still challenges and loves Christians the world over. Each individual aspect of this description of love is worth serious consideration, but there is one that I want to focus on for a moment today. It is one that should cause each of us to think, but it is one that should also be taught to our children and reinforced by everyone. It is…
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Put It in Their Minds Early!
Not long ago, I heard a short snippet of a song that I had not heard in years. As I thought about it, I don’t think I had heard so much as a single note of the song in at least 20 years. But immediately, upon hearing those few seconds, I remembered a little more. Of course, I did a little online digging and found the full song. While I can’t tell you I remembered every word, it was remarkable how much of the song was still in my mind somewhere. And that was true despite the fact that the song had run up the charts and then quickly back…
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The Big Three (or One)
The shelves of bookstores and libraries are full of the latest ideas, tips, methods, techniques, etc. which are designed to help people succeed in their chosen professions. Courses, gadgets, gizmos, seminars, websites, podcasts, and workshops are numerous that ostensibly help people to find a job/career and “move up the ladder” quickly in the workforce. “Life coaches” are more than willing (for a fee) to help prospective employees and/or current employees who want to make a name for himself or herself in the corporate world. Advice and instruction is provided on all sorts of subjects and comes in a variety of forms. Have you ever wondered what a real expert has to…
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But Do You Like Each Other?
One thing Leah and I have been talking about a lot the last few months is a trip we took back in the summer, and a realization we made on that trip. For our 25th anniversary, we took a few days and traveled together. It was a great time. We saw a lot of sites and ate some wonderful food. We also just enjoyed downtime. As the trip wore on, though, one thing we both said was that the trip reminded us that we like each other. Notice that sentence didn’t say that we “love” each other. We already knew that. That’s non-negotiable! But I’m concerned that a lot of…
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A Beautiful Marriage
After more than fifty-four years of marriage, it only makes sense that we did something right in selecting a mate for life. Now, granted, I have known several people who have remained married for many years who really don’t seem to like each other, but remain married for a variety of reasons. This, however, is not usually the norm in marriages with longevity. Sadly, in today’s world people spend more time looking at the outside of a person and make that their deciding factor in whether or not they want to spend time with them. And even more sadly, they often use those people for their own gratification. This is…
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A Lesson Learned from Teaching the Song of Solomon
I’m only a couple of weeks away from finishing teaching a Bible class on the Song of Solomon. This is actually the second time I have taught through that book, and, while challenging, it is a joy. Since the book is quite short, we are able to throw in a few “special studies” on marriage, but they all come from the concepts found in that great love poem. Overall, though, the vast majority of the class is just going through the poem and being encouraged by what is there. It is interesting to me that, while Song of Solomon is “famous” for its very descriptive language, that part of the…
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A Time for Rest
Over the course of our 54 years of marriage, Jim and I have done a good bit of traveling. Some of it has been for work purposes (gospel meetings, ladies’ days, seminars, and lectureships), but some of it has been for vacation and relaxation. When our children were young we tried to take them to places that would be fun but also educational. Usually, these were not very relaxing trips. As we have gotten older and don’t go as much, we try to find places that will not only be beautiful, but also relaxing. We’ve traveled in almost every direction from our home in Paducah, Kentucky, and we have always enjoyed…
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Who’s to Blame?
I want to share with you something that I found to be interesting and challenging at the same time. Along with that, it is also a very good reason for self-examination. I listened to a podcast during which a father had a conversation with his adult son. The subject most discussed during the conversation/interview was the son’s addiction to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, he has been “clean” now for a number of years. What interested me was the motivating factor that led to his recovery. The discussion turned to the idea that people need to “hit bottom” before they can turn things around. It surprised me to learn that the…
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The World Has Our Kids Because…
It has been a long time since I was a full-time youth minister. Since then, though, one of the joys of my life has been that, at each of the three congregations for which I have preached–Lebanon Road, 9th Avenue, and Central–the elders have specifically told me that they would like me to have a part in helping with the youth program. What fascinates me a great deal of the time is how little has changed. Oh sure, there have been technological changes and other things like that, but people are people and, just like Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Tragically, one of the things that…
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It Was Only a Nickel
When I was growing up as a little girl, we lived next door to my paternal grandparents. Those were much simpler times and life seemed easier. We lived within one block of a small ice cream stand that could actually be seen from my grandparent’s porch. A small ice cream cone cost 5 cents – one nickel! (I know some of you are thinking of just how old I am!) On one particularly hot summer day, my grandpa was sitting out on the front porch and I decided to ask him if I could have a nickel to get an ice cream cone. He reached into his pocket and held…
