On Friday this week, I will put marble #3,952 in the big glass jar…one for every week I’ve been alive. What in the ever-loving world for you ask? Of course I have a story to tell. A couple of years ago I was fortunate to be in a Bible study with Dr. Randy Stinson, Provost […]

41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people-500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” 43 Simon answered, “I

A Roger Miller song reminds us that “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.” Joy is such an elusive quality that we often confuse with happiness. Recently we extolled the dangers of depression/worry and some of the things it steals from those of us

Somewhere in my life, I picked up the behavior of worrying. About money, mostly, but I can worry about anything, really. I don’t believe I was born worrying, so I must have learned to worry from past experiences and from watching people worry-probably my parents. Actually that’s good news. If you, like me, have struggled

John the Baptist answered, “It’s not possible for a person to succeed. I’m talking about eternal success-without heaven’s help. You yourselves were there when I made it public that I was not the Messiah but simply the one sent ahead of him to get things ready. The one who gets the bride is, by definition,

Bates Ivey – My Dad You know, any fool with live sperm can father a child, but it takes a very special man to be a Dad. My Dad was 97 when he shuffled off this mortal coil to his heavenly reward. He was a faithful servant of God, active in ministry of one kind

When The Gorgeous Redhead and I first got together, we were the proverbial skunk and turtle respectively. She conducted her business at the top of her lungs and I withdrew into my shell. Neither of us understood that the root cause of these behavior models was to be found in the oft misunderstood and shunned

It costs you nothing – no financial expenditure is required of us and yet people don’t just want your time, they crave it. I’ve told most of you before that I keep a 3 gallon glass jar on my desk with a marble in it for every week I’ve been alive…there are somewhere beyond 3900

Several years ago, a group of historians met and asked a number of intriguing questions. What if the Moors had won in the great historic battle in Spain? What if the Dutch had kept New Amsterdam? What if Louis XVI had been a strong, firm king? What if Lee had won at Gettysburg? What if

Life hurts, and all of us have unresolved pain in our pasts. Why? It’s because we are human, and unfortunately, pain is part of the human experience. This pain accumulates in our hearts, begins to compromise us, and forces us to deal with it. Family of origin theory speaks to this. All children must learn