There is tyranny in words. Words can be Philistine giants that slay us, or they can provide the solid foundation on which we build our lives. They can be maxims that crumble like ashes, or ropes on slippery places that keep us erect and steady. We think too little...
An article in The Commercial Appeal (4-20-23) tells a dramatic story about the love of Walter Watkins and son for their stolen dog. The dog, Hennessy, was stolen from their yard when she was only three months old. A neighbor said she saw a man pull Hennessy over the...
Dianne, my sister- in law, died seven months ago. Recently her husband gave Jerry (my wife) a folder and a large envelope full of letters she had received from Kevin, our son, and sermon I had preached years ago. The letters are priceless for Kevin. And the sermons?...
There are those in the Protestant that think lightly, sometimes even condescendingly of written prayers. They think we should be able to pray spontaneously. Well, I think we should not only be able, but most of us also pray more spontaneously than “planned” praying....
DENNIS did it again…this time resulting in the remains of a broken vase scattered all over the floor. His mother hears sound, looks around shocked as “the Menace” says, “Well That didn’t have a very long shelf life. Shelf life is a significant issue in household and...
Often, when we are in a group seeking to get a lot of things done, the question consistently asked is, “Are you available?” I’ve been thinking about that, not in terms of getting certain things done, but in terms of character description. So, the question is broader...
I hear it often, “Are you listening?” Being with another person we often sense that the person is pleading, “Please listen.” As much as anything else, people need to be listened to. Nothing enhances our feelings of worth more than being listened to? When you listen to...
It was a very good article—relevant, honest, objective, non-political. Yet, in the middle of it there was a troubling observation: “While overdoses and overdose deaths have increased over the last decade in Fayette County, similar to every Tennessee county and U.S....
In my growing up years and in early adulthood, I often found myself often thinking and sometimes saying, “Oh, if I could be like him.” As I matured a bit more, the expression of that longing changed. I found myself seeking to ease my sense of failure by thinking and...
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Matthew 23:37 NIV) You may have to be from rural...