My friend and preaching colleague, Matt Allen, posted a thought on facebook the other day that caught my attention.
He said, “We are closer to Christmas than New Years Day earlier this year.”
Indeed, we’re past the halfway point of 2021. Today is the 187th day of the year with 178 days left. Continue reading
On this final day of our July 4th weekend blogging break, here’s a post from 5 years that I wish could go viral. It is much needed in today’s culture.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
We recognize these words, written by Thomas Jefferson, from the Declaration of Independence, issued 240 years ago today. On America’s birthday we celebrate our freedom and revel in our liberty. We love the feeling of liberty.
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We’re taking the July 4th week off from blogging, but here’s a reblog from a post 5 years ago that reminds us about true freedom.
As we approach the day of celebration in the United States for our Independence, we give thanks for the freedom we enjoy that has blessed our lives in so many ways.
While we often reflect upon the personal, economic, and social aspects of freedom, let us ever grateful for the freedom of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution.
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I’m taking a short blogging break over the July 4th weekend. But here’s a post from 6 years ago that speaks to our country’s pressing problems and spiritual needs even more so today than when it was written.
I’m feeling a bit melancholy on this Saturday morning.
I probably shouldn’t feel this way, but I do. It’s a beautiful beginning to the day. It’s a very pleasant 60 degrees on my back porch. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. Squirrels are scampering about the woods behind us. The deer are enjoying their morning “salt lick.” And the coffee is good.
Why don’t I feel in a celebratory mood?
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“Everyone needs this list to live,” suggested Tony and Marge Abram.
It combines both the positive and negative, in reminding us what to embrace and what to avoid. What to encourage and what to discourage. What to imbibe and from what to abstain.
Whether you totally agree or not with the assessment of their modifiers of “greatest” or “most,” it will provide you will some wonderful food for thought and reflection. Continue reading
Filed under Friday's List to Life By
At her graduation ceremony, Verda Tetteh learned that she’d received a $40,000 scholarship.
Ten minutes later she walked back to the podium, apologized for interrupting the ceremony, then shocked and surprised the Fitchburg, Massachusetts, audience with this announcement. Continue reading
Paul Fritz calls them “the triad of Christian virtues.”
Philip R. Davies wrote, “These three graces form the essential elements of the Christian character.
An unknown author referred to them as “the holy and beautiful sisterhood of Christians virtues.”
And what are they? Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
Did you know that today, June 29th is the national “Hug Holiday”?
Well, according to the national holiday calendar of unusual, weird, or wacky holidays, “this very special day was created by the “Hugs for Health Foundation.”
While I haven’t been able to locate the foundation or the source or creator of this holiday, there is medical documentation that giving and receiving hugs has physical, mental, and emotional benefits. In a paper “For the Heart,” by St. Luke’s hospital, Dr. James O’Keefe, discussed the importance of good relationships to our physical and mental health. Continue reading
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Norma Jean and I just spent a long weekend in a cabin at Hills Point Resort. It’s located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the area of the Les Cheneaux Islands.
Now, “resort” may conjure up in your mind specific creature comforts and amenities associated with the word. Forget it. These were 90-year-old cabins that may be described as “rustic.” However, some google reviewers preferred “rundown” and “in need of repair.”
Upon checking in, I was talking with the owner, Chris, about the wide range of reviews from 5 stars to 1 star. He replied, “Well, there’s one word that will make a difference in your life.” Continue reading
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Today Norma Jean and I are in Cedarville, Michigan, enjoying a bit of R&R in a rustic cabin by Lake Huron.
We expect this morning will be one of the highlights of our trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. No, not a tour of Mackinac Island. No, not seeing the cargo ships go through the locks at Sault Ste Marie. No, not a drive to the incredible dunes by the lake. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
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