Sunday, we were at church in the worship service. We sat with our daughter and son-in-law. A couple we did not know sat in the row in front of us. At the conclusion of the service, we all introduced ourselves. It was their first Sunday to attend our church and they were fairly new in our city. One of the usual questions is "where did you move from to come to Colorado?" They had moved from Texas and from the same city we had once lived. Then the lady and our daughter dis

Everyone experiences the frustration of not being able to understand some things. Maybe it occurs in an academic class when Calculus or Quantum Physics take a jump forward that our brains failed to grasp. Or it could be when reading a play by William Shakespeare or a classic by Charles Dickens and we wonder what was that about. However, our failure to understand more often occurs because of the actions or behaviors of individuals, groups, or nations. Watching the evening n

For several years, my wife and I have enjoyed putting together jigsaw puzzles as a way to relax and keep our minds alert. Recently, we did a new puzzle entitled "This or That?" The puzzle was filled with sections asking the question of what you choose between two related items. Examples would be "pancakes or waffles," "milk or dark chocolate," "mustard or ketchup," or "coffee or tea." Altogether, there were probably about 50 different pairings. One of those pairings caug

Are You Ready? My, what an important but unspecific question. For what are we supposed to be ready? Dinner? Church? Bedtime? A Meeting? As a Boy Scout, our motto was Be Prepared. For what? For anything and everything! Be Ready, Be Prepared, and On Call all carry the same emphasis or meaning. Each one signifies that something or somethings must be done prior to the event or happening for which you are to be ready. While I don't remember the exact time or words since I was

When you go swimming, which end of the pool do you choose? As a child, no one in my family knew how to swim. While I enjoyed being in the water, I spent most of my time in the shallow end of the pool because I had not learned to swim. My first summer at Boy Scout Camp, I found out that a swimming test was required for placement in the pool. Many of my friends passed with flying colors and went to the deep end. I was a failure and wound up in the shallow end. At that mom

The Armstrong Browning Library is one of the best-known buildings on the campus of Baylor University. As a History and English Literature student, I spent many hours in that library and its classrooms. It is known around the world as housing the largest collection of books, letters, manuscripts and memorabilia related to Robert and Elizabeth Browning. The building and its contents didn't happen overnight. Dr. A.J. Armstrong served as chair of the English Department at Baylo

One of the questions asked often in church groups is "what is your favorite Bible verse?" Regardless of denomination of the church, the most frequent answer is John 3:16. Even among persons who do not attend church and may not be Christians, John 3:16 is often listed as a favorite Bible verse. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 Why do people state that John

Five years ago, my wife and I moved to Colorado Springs. We could have moved to San Antonio, Texas, where our son lives or here where our daughter lives. Both of our children would be great to live near, but the summer heat in Texas had just become too much. This was not our first move. Mary grew up in Billings, Montana, and I grew up in Temple, Texas. We met at Baylor in Waco, Texas, and married between our junior and senior years of college. As a couple, we have lived

Recently, I have been reading through the Psalms in the Bible. Often, I have noticed multiple phrases from several Psalms that all carry the same instruction: "Let us sing praises to the Lord" "Make a joyful noise to the Lord" "Sing praises to the Lord" "Sing to the Lord a new song" At times in the Psalms, David includes the instruction to sing with the lyre, with trumpets, with horns, with the lute, and with the harp. In 1 Chronicles 25, David is helping prepare for the te

In 1915, a WWI battle raged in Belgium for 17 Days. John McCrae, a medical doctor tended to many of the wounded in that battle. One of McCrae's best friends was killed in that battle. McCrae penned the poem "In Flanders Fields" to memorialize the battle and to remember his friend who died in the battle. The poem reminds us even today of those who have given their lives in the fight for freedom worldwide. IN FLANDERS FIELDS by John McCrae "In Flanders fields the poppies grow

Artemis II just completed a 10-day trip around the moon. Upon the return of the four astronauts who composed the crew of the Artemis II, individually and as a group, they spoke of their memories and insights they gained on the trip. Among other comments they talked about the beauty of the Earth, the vastness of space, the cohesiveness of the crew, and the realization of the exactness of creation. For each one it was an experience of a lifetime. Today, as I reflected upon t

When your children are young and you have loaded the car with suitcases, your children may ask - "where are we going?" You might give a destination, a person's name, or a subject like vacation. Children can then ask many more questions such as "how will we get there, who is going to drive, or how long will it take'? Of course everyone's favorite question is "are we there yet?" Now consider these parameters for the trip: You have no map. You have no specific destination. You

There are numerous nouns you could use to fill in the blank found in the title of this article. One of the most common would be the word FAN. One definition of a fair-weather fan is a sports supporter who only cheers for a team when they are successful, winning, or popular, but loses interest or stops following them during losing streaks or hard times. It would be very easy to list examples of teams that had a strong fan base after a great season only to see it dwindle afte

The church where my wife and I are members is taking steps to create a new staff position. The person who will fill that position is already on staff but this will change his direction of ministry. While we know who is going to be in the new position, the first step of official church procedure involves the approval of a job description. The Personnel Committee has worked on the job description for some time and presented it to the church this past weekend. We gladly appro

By the time I turned six years old and began the first grade, it was obvious that I had inherited from my mother the constant habit of writing or drawing with my left hand. I was one of only two students in my first grade class who wrote with the left hand rather than the huge majority who were more comfortable writing with the right hand. I am thankful that no one ever nicknamed me Lefty. However, I have been in classes when the teacher would ask "how many lefties do we h

Don't get the wrong idea from the title of this article. Neither speed skating, downhill skiing, luge, nor figure skating is the challenge that I picked up from the first three days of this year's Winter Olympics from Italy. Rather, the challenge that stands out to me began when Kirsty Coventry, the president of the IOC, spoke to the athletes at the Opening Ceremony. She acknowledged that each one was an individual, but more importantly they were all part of a team - a tea

Only a few days remain in our calendar year 2025. Of course, with the ending of one calendar year, a New Year (2026) will begin the next day. These days of transition are when we tend to evaluate the condition of our lives and lay plans for how we are going to improve in the next year. The term "New Year's Resolutions" becomes a catch phrase during these days. There are two aspects to "New Year's Resolutions." The first aspect is to try and remember the resolutions we made

This week many families will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. From the harvest feast in 1621 shared by the English colonists and the Wampanoag people to Abraham Lincoln declaring Thanksgiving Day to be a national holiday to 2025, the celebration of Thanksgiving has gone through many variations. In many gatherings, the practice of giving thanks will be overshadowed by football and food. In other gatherings, some families will take the cue of the day to share their thankfuln

Have you ever considered what your life would be like if God answered every prayer you prayed with a positive response? You and I often pray with little thought to the full consequences of a positive answer. We do not know what tomorrow holds much less a few weeks, months, or years in the future. As a teenager, I heard a sermon on prayer. Our preacher said that God answers prayer as "Yes," "No," or "Not Yet." He went on to say that a "Yes" answer may come with some revisi

THERE WAS A TIME when words kept violence at bay, when words were spoken in truth, when words were the value of a man, when words brought...