Merry Christmas! While we celebrate the incarnation of Christ Jesus, I want to ask you to consider the example of a man who was indispensable to the Christmas story — Joseph the carpenter. Meet Joseph When we first meet Joseph in the Bible, he is defined in terms of his relationships — as the […]
Christmas is just around the corner. Despite the holiday-themed TV ads that began in early November and the radio stations that started playing Christmas music around the same time, it’s possible you may have missed it. As a friend of mine observed, “Christmas seems to come earlier every year.” If the crass commercialization of the […]
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” – Psalm 116:15 (ESV) As I have written, we lost my mother-in-law, Carolyn, in early October following a tragic accident on a Florida bridge. Because her husband, Jack, was still in critical condition, we decided to postpone Carolyn’s funeral until Jack had […]
“The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” – Proverbs 10:7 (ESV) “It shouldn’t have happened.” Those were my wife’s words on Sunday — the day she and her siblings, our nephew, and I said goodbye to their mother, his grandmother, my mother-in-law. “It shouldn’t have happened. […]
“Marriage is the graduate school of service.” – Pastor David Chadwick I’ve made no secret of my belief in marriage. Mrs. Booth and I have been married for nearly 32 years, with the struggles and joys that come with being married that long. It has been and is a great thing and I love being […]
Commenter Dale provided a reminder recently of an important concept that deserves more attention: “Dalrock, on his blog, has somewhat regularly been hitting the idea that we have love and marriage totally backwards. We think that a relationship of romantic love is the correct place in which to have sex and create marriage. A consequence […]
“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” -Mark Twain Perhaps you’ve heard or read a news item on the findings of a new report on religion in America published by the Pew Research Center. The link to America’s Changing Religious Landscape appears here. The main point reported is that the number of Americans […]
“Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” – 1 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV) –Saint Paul Time for another visit to the poetry corner. Note: I found this years ago in a poetry anthology belonging to my grandfather. I noticed it because when he read something that stuck with him, he’d sign his name on the page. […]
In my previous post on identity, I warned against the rise of the impostor, also known as the false self. If you’re like me and most of the men I’ve met, you have either overcome the false self, or you are living the life of the false self. What is this False Self you speak […]
“All the world’s a stage.” – William Shakespeare Some time ago, I read an article expounding on the theory of 20th century playwright and anthropologist, Robert Ardrey. In his book, The Territorial Imperative, Ardrey states that once a creature’s survival needs are met (Think Maslow’s hierarchy: food, clothing and shelter), there is a hierarchy of […]
