To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1896 a company named Sperry & Hutchinson came up with a brilliant idea. They began to sell green-colored stamps to retailers – department stores, supermarkets, and gasoline stations – who then gave them away to their customers in proportion to the goods they bought at their stores. It took a… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If you live somewhere in the United States, you don’t have to join a safari or head to an exotic locale to come face to face with an extraordinary creature. The odds are fairly good there’s an opossum somewhere in your neighborhood right now. And even though they are among the… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Brains are amazing. The organ that occupies your cranium right now is a grayish mass about the size of a softball. Remarkably, it’s about 80% water. Even though your brain represents only 2% of your body weight, it devours something like 20% of your daily energy. Research has demonstrated that you began… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Matt Emmons of the U.S. rifle team was one shot away from a gold medal. He didn’t even need a bull’s eye. All he had to do was leave a mark anywhere on the target. That would give him enough points to win the 50-Meter Three-Position… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here A bit of makeup might have changed the course of history. Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy were neck-and-neck in the race for the White House in 1960. For the first time during an American election, the candidates would engage in a live televised debate. CBS played host in… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1981, the Academy Award for Best Picture went to an unusual British film that had no sex, no violence, and no car chases. It was called Chariots of Fire. The movie tells the true story of two world class athletes, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Both compete as sprinters for… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here The late author and pastor Tim Keller recalls a conference breakout session that changed his life. A presenter named Barbara Boyd promised some tips on reading the Bible – not a particularly cutting-edge subject. Boyd provided these instructions: “Sit for 30 minutes and write down at least 30 things you learn from… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When PTL’s television ministry suddenly imploded early in 1987, everything was put on the auction block. Like beachcombers eager to pocket a relic from a shipwreck, thousands of people crowded into the corporation’s auditorium in North Carolina hoping to grab a memento from one of the greatest spiritual shipwrecks of recent… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Americans have long cherished what has been described as a “special relationship” with Great Britain. Our relationship with France? That’s a bit more complicated. It’s true that France was in our corner from the start, serving as our principal military ally during our Revolution. In 1876, to mark the 100th anniversary of… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Robin Willilams, as part of his standup routine, occasionally offered his own definition of politics. “Politics,” he explained, “comes from the Latin word ‘poly,’ which means ‘many,’ and ‘ticks,’ which means ‘blood-sucking creatures.’” In his new book Age of Revolutions, Fareed Zakaria notes that Williams’ quip always got a big laugh…. Read more »