In July 1982, 33-year-old Larry Walters of Long Beach, California, pulled off one of the craziest stunts in aviation history. As a child Larry had longed to fly. But poor eyesight disqualified him from pilot training. Then he got an idea. Walters attached 45 helium-filled weather balloons to his lawn chair. He strapped himself in with a few sandwiches, a… Read more »
Throughout November we’re taking an in-depth look at Ruth, the little book that helped pave the way for God’s Messiah to come into the world. The common cold has proven to be uncommonly hard to defeat. For years, British scientists operated a research facility called the Common Cold Unit. It finally closed in 1989 without finding the elusive “cure” that… Read more »
After 18 months of saturation news coverage of the pandemic, the televised images have become predictable. We see COVID patients lying in ICU beds. Exhausted nurses. Vials of vaccine rolling off pharmaceutical assembly lines. Running tallies of the sick and dying. Exasperated politicians. Protesters chanting at workplaces and school board meetings. Then there are the needles – seemingly endless… Read more »
There’s a reason it’s called Thank God Ledge. By the time rock climbers have scaled most of Yosemite’s massive geological feature called Half Dome, the narrow ledge near the top is a welcome relief. Before the 20th century it didn’t seem possible that anyone could go straight up the granite face. Three climbers – working together and using all the… Read more »
If you have a desire to experience the world’s most violent weather, Oklahoma is the place for you. As journalist Michael Lewis notes in his book The Coming Storm, the National Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK is “about as perfectly situated as an institution can be.” Masses of warm air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico routinely collide… Read more »
If there’s such a thing as the Most Disappointing Verse in the Bible, Revelation 21:1 just might be the one. John the evangelist reports a breathtaking glimpse of heaven in chapter 21 of the Bible’s last book. Verse four gets a lot of press, and deservedly so: “[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more… Read more »
It’s the biggest moment of your life. It’s just you and the goalkeeper, who is standing 12 yards away. The soccer goal he or she is guarding is 24 feet across and 8 feet high. Will you hit the penalty shot that will win the World Cup for your country – eternally ensuring your place in the hearts of your… Read more »
When I was 10 years old, the coach of my summer softball team spoke to me some of the most heartening words I have ever heard. “You have been chosen to be on the All-Star team. And the other coaches and I have been talking, and we want you to be the starting pitcher.” It just doesn’t get much better… Read more »
In the book of Numbers, chapter 13, Moses and the people of Israel stand at the threshold of the Promised Land. Behind them lies slavery in Egypt. Ahead lies the land “flowing with milk and honey,” the place God had promised to Abraham. The Lord says to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am… Read more »
