Do I see palm trees up ahead?

Do I see palm trees up ahead?

Here in Virginia, one can almost guarantee hearing someone say: “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” But not this summer! This summer, it has been the heat. And not only in the US. Europe has been scorching hot these past few months, hotter than most have ever...
Where did that come from?

Where did that come from?

I am an auditory learner. That is, I get information best simply by listening. The positive aspect of this is not needing a lot of other stimuli. One downside is that I don’t manage to take notes well. The other downside is that I forget more easily now than before,...
Dare We?

Dare We?

We celebrate a long list of people acclaimed for their achievements: Olympic athletes excelling at their sport, college and professional athletes winning tournaments, arts and entertainment stars ‘owning’ the red carpet, scientists hailing breakthroughs in all...
And laughter, too

And laughter, too

I’ve got it! I know why Jesus chooses little children, and those who are like them, to live in his Kingdom! They are not self-conscious or uptight or judgmental or worried what others will think. They instinctively know they need, indeed are dependent on, loving care...
Life, Then and Now

Life, Then and Now

A little sympathy, please. Life is, as promised, not always a walk in the park. But, if you are differently gifted, aka left-handed, the difficulties are multiplied. The right-handed majority lives blithely oblivious of the repeated indignities endured by their...
… gonna lay down my burdens…

… gonna lay down my burdens…

Dr. James Dobson was once heard to say: ‘Children are the best receivers of information, and the worst interpreters of information.’ That means that little ones hear well and eagerly, but they have to process the information heard through the lens of their as-yet,...
More of Him, Less of Me

More of Him, Less of Me

Professors’ teaching styles range from fall-asleep, deathly boring to edge-of-seat riveting (with all variations in between). I once had an evening class – from 7-10 PM! The professor was one of the most gentle, kind, intelligent men one could ever meet....
 Somebody, open the window!

 Somebody, open the window!

I thought there’d been a mistake. We’d ordered, online, a latex foam mattress, but what came was shrink-wrapped and rolled up in a box so small I was sure the company had sent the wrong thing. And it weighed 80 pounds! Opening the box, I saw this weird-looking, heavy...
(Almost) Beyond Description

(Almost) Beyond Description

Our souls, with their God-sized bandwidth, have near-endless capacity for expansion. That’s why when a story or a film or a piece of music or art (or a sports team), gets to our emotions, there’s this swelling sensation in our chest, and often a welling up of tears....
Is that a clearing up ahead?

Is that a clearing up ahead?

Not to skewer anyone, but you might be of a certain age if you’ve ever advanced a personal opinion employing the word, ‘new-fangled.’ Decidedly derogatory in meaning, the term conveys the idea of preposterously, or ostentatiously, modern; or maybe, simply, ‘not what...