To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Just 69 days into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet. The outcome of that event, interestingly, is that the 70-year-old Reagan, while at his weakest, took on an aura of formidable strength, even while one of his “strongest” cabinet members appeared to falter before the watching world. On March… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Dear God: Thanks for nothing. Before you conclude that this must be the winner of the Worst Prayer Ever Contest, consider the possibility that nothing is sometimes really something. Thanking God for nothing can be a prayer of profound gratitude. Thanks, Lord, that nothing happened to me while driving this past week. Thanks that nothing prevented… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Ron Popeil has almost certainly made an impact on your life, even if you don’t recognize his name or face. Popeil, who died two years ago at the age of 86, was the founder of Ronco, the company which gave birth to the Veg-O-Matic and dozens of other novelty inventions. In the 50s and… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Say a prayer and do your job. Those were the two things on Captain David Cronin’s mind as he tried to steer a seriously damaged Boeing 747 toward an emergency landing. On February 24, 1989, United Airlines Flight 811 departed Honolulu on its way to New Zealand. When the jumbo jet… Read more »
You received this email because 51 years ago Ray Tomlinson spent a few hours messing around. Tomlinson was a computer programmer working with ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet. In 1971 a whopping 15 computers had been linked to each other. Ray thought it might be useful one day to send messages between computers. The trick was to figure out a way… Read more »
Throughout the month of August, we’re taking a close look at 23 verses of the New Testament. They comprise Ephesians chapter one, which paints one of the Bible’s most comprehensive pictures of what it means for ordinary people to be “in Christ.” I grew up in a church populated by stained-glass saints. Our sanctuary windows featured dozens of them — monumental, brightly… Read more »
It matters when we see someone’s face. A few years ago, Jonathan Turner, an Israeli physician, conducted a fascinating experiment. With their consent, he took photos of 300 men and women who were coming in for CT scans. He attached the photos to their images that were then submitted to radiologists. The radiologists – who knew nothing of Turner’s plan –… Read more »
On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln stood against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol and presented his Second Inaugural Address. Less than five weeks later, the core goals of his presidency – the surrender of the primary Confederate forces and thus the preservation of the Union – would finally be accomplished. The expectation of those victories buoyed the nation’s capital. If… Read more »
You don’t need to worry about anything. Really. Scripture is unambiguous on this point. Worry should never be part of the life of someone who follows Jesus. This seems so incomprehensible, however – and we see so few people living worry-free lives – that it’s tempting to conclude the Bible is asking for the impossible. Philosopher and author Dallas Willard… Read more »
For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, we’re looking at the life of Peter. Because he’s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus. Mike Ditka is one of the most famous tough… Read more »
