Monthly Archives: August 2024

Shouts and Whispers

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Sir Isaac Newton was one smart guy.  That is a supreme understatement.  Until another genius, Albert Einstein, introduced humanity to his Theory of Relativity early last century, Newton (1642-1726) had almost singlehandedly figured out and stated the “rules” for how the cosmos works. No wonder science textbooks still refer to those principles… Read more »

Deadliest Catch

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here “You’ve gotta ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?” Clint Eastwood’s iconic words to a cornered armed robber in his title role of Dirty Harry could well apply to fans of fugu, the “Russian roulette” of Japanese cuisine. Fugu is another name for pufferfish or blowfish,… Read more »

Agnes’ Birthday Party

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Tony Campolo, Baptist pastor and professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern College in Philadelphia, is one of America’s celebrated storytellers. One of his signature stories concerns a visit he made years ago to Hawaii.  Tony, whose body was still on Eastern Time, wandered into a diner at 3 am. The only other… Read more »

Monster Mash

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here On a rain-drenched night in June 1816, an odd group of friends helped shape two of the most enduring horror characters of all time. The gathering on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, featured a veritable Who’s Who of English literary giants from the Romantic era. There was the poet Percy… Read more »

Horse Sense

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Since Mary Sue and I live on a small farm and have the privilege of tending four rescued horses (three “wild” mustangs and one exceedingly retired thoroughbred), people frequently ask if I like to ride. In a word, No. I adore the horses. I love the rhythm of carrying hay bales,… Read more »

The Greatest of All Time

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Ramses II was the most magnificent of all the Egyptian pharaohs.  After taking the throne in 1279 B.C., he lived to be 90 and ruled for 66 years. He fathered more than 100 children. Most rulers become known as “the Great” only after they leave the scene. Ramses, however, wouldn’t have hesitated to… Read more »

A Life-Giving Spring

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Certain animals look as if they could only have sprung from the imagination of Doctor Seuss. One of those is the gerenuk antelope, a reclusive member of the gazelle family that lives in the semi-arid grasslands and deserts of east Africa. Europeans didn’t even know of their existence until 1879. “Gerenuk”… Read more »

Desperate for God

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When Michael Jordan announced the first of what would ultimately be his three retirements from the NBA, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls, made this proclamation: “He’s living the American Dream. The American Dream is to reach a point in your life where you don’t have to do anything you… Read more »

The Treasure We Seek

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Most people fantasize, from time to time, what it might be like to be the richest person on earth. What if we could buy anything a human heart might possibly desire? For William Randolph Hearst, that fantasy was reality. He actually did buy anything his heart desired.  In the process of… Read more »

A Life That Never Ends

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here So, you want to live forever? Most people do, you know. “Our frantic efforts to outlive ourselves” have been primary shapers of human culture for thousands of years. That’s the conclusion of Professor Clay Jones, a faculty member at Talbot Seminary in Los Angeles, in his recent book Immortal: How the… Read more »