To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here His real name was Jean-François Gravelet. But shortly after he launched his career in the 1840s as Europe’s greatest “funambulist” or tightrope walker, the Frenchman began calling himself Charles Blondin. And it wasn’t long before that had morphed into Blondin the Great. He was a fairly ordinary-looking fellow – just five-foot five inches… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here For multitudes of individuals and organizations, the holidays have become the season of compassion. But how do we help without hurting? That question has consumed Robert Lupton, author of the bestseller Toxic Charity, for more than 50 years. In his work as a community redeveloper in Atlanta, Lupton began to notice… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Public speaking freaks a lot of people out. Jerry Seinfeld famously noted, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When author and sociologist Tony Campolo was little, walking to school by himself was not a wise option. Who knew what might happen to a young boy? Tony’s mother paid a neighbor girl, Harriet, five cents a day to make sure he arrived and returned safely. This wounded his pride. Why… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If you visit the website of Occidental Petroleum (now known as Oxy), there’s no mention of Armand Hammer in the official history of the corporation. Do a search for his name and you’ll get, “Nothing here matches your search.” That’s remarkable, considering the fact Hammer was the CEO of Occidental for… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here What happens when children talk to God? If the missives found in Children’s Letters to God (Workman Publishing, 1966) are any indication, what we get is a good deal more honesty that we generally hear in prayers offered by adults. Cartoonist and playwright Stuart E. “Stoo” Hample collaborated with Eric Marshall… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here The Hasbro toy company hoped to make a new product splash at the 1964 New York Toy Fair. What they ended up doing was introducing an entirely new kind of toy. It was a doll for boys – a human form, fully 12 inches tall, that could bend at every joint… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here For ten long years, the greatest hero of ancient Greek literature tries to find his way home. Odysseus has led the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War. He now longs to head west, back across the Mediterranean, where he can finally rejoin his wife and son at their home on… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev agonized for days over the puzzle of how to arrange the known elements. Sleepiness finally overcame him. When he awoke after a few hours, the solution suddenly presented itself. “I saw in a dream how to arrange everything.” It was the world’s first rendition of… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Pastors sometimes get surprising questions. In his book The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith recounts a story he heard from his friend, Pastor Jeff Gannon. A young woman called Gannon out of the blue and asked, “May I come to your church?” What a question. “Of course,” said Gannon, who was surprised she… Read more »
