To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Would you rather work on an easy puzzle or a hard puzzle? The New York Times, which has been publishing its famous crossword puzzle every day since 1942, offers readers a choice. Monday’s puzzles are for beginners. Things get a little tougher on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. By Thursday, the average reader will… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here With the Civil War now 160 years in the rear-view mirror, historians continue to debate the point at which the Union prevailed. When was the high-water mark of the Confederacy? At what moment in what battle were the South’s hopes, realistically, finally thwarted? No consensus has emerged. But the epic three-day conflict of July… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Fans of the Indianapolis “500” have fond memories of the 1969 Memorial Day race. It was the one and only time that Mario Andretti – who at age 81 remains a public ambassador for the sport – was able to take the checkered flag. But there’s another Speedway legend from… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It’s hard to overstate the global acclaim that fell upon Charles Lindbergh when he became the first aviator to fly solo from the United States to Europe. In his book One Summer, cultural historian Bill Bryson documents the mania that engulfed Lindbergh when he landed outside Paris 99 years ago today –… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who served on the Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932, is one of the most highly regarded justices in American history. Cool, detached, and a strong advocate of judicial restraint, he was also a convinced secularist. Holmes was certain that this world is all we’ve got. He… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Life is full of close calls. On February 9, 1709, a couple named Samuel and Susanna tucked their children into bed in their modest cottage in Epworth, England. Samuel was an Anglican priest known for his energetic preaching. Susannah, who had brought 19 children into the world (nine of whom lived beyond infancy), was… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here These days, there are almost no limitations in most states concerning the strength and variety of fireworks that individuals can buy. When our kids were young, however, the only way Hoosiers could get their hands on seriously cool rockets was at fireworks outlets in other states. During the course of a family trip, I… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When things go wrong and life falls apart, it’s not unusual for people to want to fire God. It would be like axing an incompetent personal assistant. Is this any way to run a universe? Or we want to go to Facebook and un-friend God – to remind him that his performance… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here You name the issue, and various groups of Christians have probably disagreed. Theological quarrels have erupted over stained glass vs. clear windows, organs vs. pianos, wine vs. Welch’s, and the King James Version vs. everything else. Church leaders have even threatened to banish each other over beards. During Christianity’s earliest centuries,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here What motivates people to work hard and succeed at difficult tasks? In the 1930’s, a psychologist named Karl Duncker devised a famous experiment to try to find out. It’s called the Candle Problem. Small groups are given a candle, a box of tacks, and a book of matches. Their assignment is simple:… Read more »
