To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. If your name is Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV, you need a good nickname. For most of his life, the tall, thin Wainwright, a career military officer, was called “Skinny.” He liked it. His greatest honor – being named supreme commander of the Allied troops in the Philippines early in 1942 – was also equivalent… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Author Martha Grace Reece once interviewed a woman who had sat in the front row of her church choir every Sunday for 30 years. “Why do you go to church? What do you get out of it?” Her husband of 35 years had just died slowly and painfully. Horror stories pocked her memories of… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. What do you hope to do before you die? Inspired by the 2007 comedy-drama The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, as well as a growing mini-industry devoted to generating new and interesting answers to that question, millions of people are taking the time to identify what dreams they hope to… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. By the spring of 1944, everybody knew the Allies were preparing to invade France. D-Day would be the first major step in crushing Hitler’s occupying army, followed by an invasion of the German homeland. The Nazis were ready, however. They had heavily fortified the French coastline. Hitler had also made two assumptions. The… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Standing Where Jesus Stands There once was a florist who had a really bad day. He mixed up two orders. One flower arrangement went to a guy who was opening a new business. The other went to a family that had just lost a loved one. The business owner came into the floral shop… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. It’s that time of year again. The tarantulas are rambling across the deserts of the American Southwest. Brown tarantulas are large, hairy, solitary spiders – about the size of a saucer – that seem perfectly designed to play the starring role in a horror movie. In reality, they are exceedingly gentle. They rarely bite… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. A New Start Bible stories don’t have official names. Even though traditional names have become attached to certain texts over the centuries, there’s still plenty of room for discussion. Many would suggest, for instance, that The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 should actually be known as The Parable of the… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Most spouses go through life carrying a mental file folder called Things I Wish I Had Never Said. They include comments made in the heat of an argument, harsh assessments of certain in-laws, and overly honest replies to questions like, “Honey, does my new haircut make me look old?” They might even include things… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Imagine a national holiday named for a convicted criminal – a guy whose big moment was actually a big failure. His name was Guido Fawkes. His alias was John Johnson. But he’s better known by his nickname, Guy. Every year on November 5, Britain celebrates Guy Fawkes Day with bonfires, parades, and fireworks. … Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. On a cold winter night in Chicago in 1927, Buckminster Fuller calculated how long it would take for him to die of hypothermia in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. He stood, despondent, on a deserted stretch of shoreline north of the city. At age 32 he had no job prospects, no savings,… Read more »
