A few minutes after I hit Send on yesterday’s reflection – the one concerning sports mascots, which included the point that no major school’s team is represented by sheep – I myself was taken to school by several readers. The “Dirtbags” are the mascot of Cal State Long Beach, not Cal State Fullerton (which I now know to be… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Have you ever wondered how woodpeckers can slam their heads into trees all day long and not have to pop a couple of ibuprofens? The answer is that a woodpecker’s body is essentially a giant shock absorber. Check out the Pileated Woodpecker above – one of America’s largest perching bird species, and the inspiration… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. The Dead Sea is one of the earth’s most extraordinary natural features. This large lake, located on the border of Israel and Jordan, is the lowest point on the surface of the planet – a full one-third of a mile below sea level. It’s not shallow, either. At one spot it’s 997… 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.” At the midpoint of Paul’s remarkable run-on declaration concerning where Christians stand with God, all the verbs have had… Read more »
For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, let’s take a look 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. “But when he saw the wind, he… Read more »
A few years ago, as the workplace pastor for a faith-friendly healthcare organization, I visited one of the office work teams. I was holding something in my left hand, which was tightly closed. “So what do you think I’m holding right now? Anybody want to take a guess?” There were lots of guesses. A coin. A marble. An acorn. I… 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. Frederick Buechner has spent most of his life writing books to help open people’s eyes to the reality of God. When his daughter was a teenager, she fell into the grips of anorexia to such… Read more »
“It’s all a big lie.” That’s how Wall Street icon Bernie Madoff broke the news on December 10, 2008, to his two sons that his world-renowned investment fund was actually a gigantic Ponzi scheme – the biggest financial fraud in American history. Tens of thousands of investors had entrusted Madoff with their treasure, many of them betting their life savings that… 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 »
The Matterhorn is a mountain like no other. At 14,692 feet, it’s hardly the tallest peak in the world. In fact, it’s only the 12th highest summit in the Alps, and barely cracks the global list of the top 400. But the Matterhorn is hands-down the most photographed peak on the planet, not least because of its striking resemblance to… Read more »