Sometimes when visiting a cemetery, I like to look for old grave markers and read the epitaphs. Many are predictable. Like “Rest in Peace.” “Loving Mother.” Or “Faithful Father.”
However, some people, or at least their relatives, exhibited a sense of humor with their choice of epitaphs. Here are some supposedly actual inscriptions on tombstones.
Ezekial Aikle, buried in the East Dalhousie Cemetery in Nova Scotia, died at age 102. His Epitaph? “The Good Die Young.” Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
The late Dr. W. A Criswell once related an occasion on an airplane when he was seated beside a well-known theologian whose son had recently died.
The man told the story of how the child had come home from school with a fever. They didn’t think it was serious. However, it was a very fatal form of meningitis. The doctor said we cannot save your little boy.
The professor related to Dr. Criswell how he sat by his son’s bedside while he died. Continue reading
Filed under Death
You see some things on Facebook that make you wince. Others cause you to shake your head in disbelief. And some elicit a chuckle. This one makes me sick.
A pro-choice organization, which means pro-abortion, recently mounted a new campaign claiming that abortion is a selfless act of love.
The National Women’s Law Center is seeking to “reframe” the abortion debate with their campaign “Abortion Actually.” According to their website they intend to “fight back against the assault on abortion rights in our country.” Continue reading
Filed under Abortion
“What is truth?” asked Pilate in his now-famous question to Jesus at His trial.
Commentators, preachers, and philosophers have discussed and debated Pilate’s motive behind the question. Was he sincere? Just jesting? Responding cynically? Barclay suggested “he asked the question wistfully and wearily.” Obviously, we will never know. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
This morning I awoke just after 5am to a beautiful sight. A full moon shining over the Gulf of Mexico. This shot from my cell phone hardly does it justice.
There’s something about the moon in general and a full moon specifically that captures our attention. It’s brightness and brilliance for sure. But the moon shining in the darkness seems to engage our reflective nature. Continue reading
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Filed under Creation
Today is Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day commemorating the end of WWI on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour in 1918.
In 1921 The United States laid to rest an American soldier, “his name known only to God”, on a Virginia hillside overlooking Washington D.C. and the Potomac River. The site was called “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” which is located in Arlington National Cemetery, where there will be a special wreath-laying ceremony today. Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
In his book “How Much Is Enough? Hungering For God In An Affluent Culture,” author Arthur Simon writes about Bryce and Ellen, “a couple in their mid-thirties. They have two sons and a daughter, and on Sundays the family attends church more often than not.”
“Bryce manages about twenty people in a medium-sized accounting firm. He receives a good salary and is on a path that he believes may eventually move him into a circle of company executives, so he goes to work early, often stays late, and usually works some on weekends. Continue reading
I recently read a story about a woman whose husband was a demanding and dictatorial man.
After they married, he compiled a written list of demands. Duties he expected of her. She was to wake up at a certain time. Fix his breakfast. Pack his lunch for work. Have supper waiting for him when he returned home. It also included various household chores. And certain favors he expected at various times. Continue reading
William Barclay titled this text, “The Royalty of Service.” Derek Geldart entitled it “Love on its knees.” Kerry Haynes called it “Bottom-Up Leadership.” And it’s often been cited as a narrative that identifies “The Heart of a Servant.”
I simply call this poignant passage, that only John records, “Jesus’ Model for Ministry.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
This week begins the 2019-2020 college basketball season. Pre-season experts have dubbed Michigan State the #1 ranked team. Followed by Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville.
Last year’s NCAA Champion, the Virginia Cavaliers, are ranked #11 But their coach, Tony Bennett, ought to be ranked #1 in terms of character, priorities, and values.
Bennett did something in the offseason that few of us would ever do. He declined a “substantial” raise, so the money could be used to increase salaries for his staff and make other improvements to UVA sports programs. Continue reading
Filed under Money
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