To state the obvious, the past year was a dumpster fire … aboard a train wreck … hurtling over a cliff … into a school of Great White sharks. I am writing this on January 21, 2021, one year to the day since the first confirmed case of COVID-19, the virus that started in China… Read More »
The Ghost of Abraham Lincoln
A persistent legend says the ghost of Abraham Lincoln roams the halls of the White House. Many, including Grace Coolidge, wife of President Calvin Coolidge, claim to have seen the 16th President. Mrs. Coolidge said she saw him standing at a window in the Oval Office, hands clasped behind his back, looking out over the… Read More »
George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States… Read More »
Only in Miami / Only in America
Mondays are my day off, so last Monday afternoon I went to vote at the Coral Gables Library. (The miamidade.gov website said the wait time was 00.00; turns out not everything you see on the Internet is true. Who knew?) But the line outside wasn’t too long, and pretty soon I was inside waiting to… Read More »
Halloween
If you are someone who really, really likes Halloween, enjoys costume parties and thinks life without candy corn, miniature Milky Ways and orange and black lollipops is not worth living, allow me to explain briefly where Halloween came from. Believe it or not … Halloween was once a Christian event. In medieval times, on November… Read More »
My Brush with Greatness
Legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula passed away last Monday, May 4. If you are a football fan, and/or live in South Florida, you know why I say “legendary”: Winning-est coach in NFL history. Coach of the only NFL team to go undefeated. A hotel and restaurants with his name on them. He even has… Read More »
Pandemic: Toward a Christian Response
Note: As I offer the following thoughts on one possible Christian response to this global crisis, please understand that nothing I say should be understood as an explicit or implicit suggestion to disregard the by now well-known CDC guidelines for staying healthy while this pandemic rages (1-800-CDC-INFO; https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html). I simply wish to place this current… Read More »
Earth in the Balance
Note: Spring arrives Thursday, March 19, precisely at 11:49 PM. I know this, not because I’m just so doggone smart, nor just because I have an internet connection. I know this because the earth runs in a very orderly, predictable, lawful manner, so we are not left to guess at such things. And I submit… Read More »
Kobe Bryant: Life, Death, Championships and What Truly Matters
The week of January 19-26, 2020 was not one I would want to relive. It started about 7:20 AM Sunday the 19th when I got word my old friend Joe Oliver, a man I looked up to tremendously, had passed away only minutes earlier. Joe’s death was a great loss for me personally, the ministry of the… Read More »
Gliding
I always wanted to go up in a glider. My dad was a pilot; I grew up around airplanes; flew a little bit with him when I was a kid in Indiana. I’ve always liked to fly. Anything that has wings and a reasonably good chance of coming back to earth safely, I like being… Read More »
