Flashback to 713 BC, an Assyrian ruler named Sennacherib invaded Judah and threatened Jerusalem. The Bible tells us this story in II Chronicles 32 and II Kings 18. Sennacherib sent some of his officers to Jerusalem with a message for the king of...

I wonder if you have heard about some interesting pending mergers. They are being widely marketed in all our news services. In fact, those sites are urging those with money to get in on the ground floor and be ready to reap the financial windfall...

The New Year presents all of us with an opportunity to declare some heartfelt resolutions. (And no, I am not taking about the kind that you ignore by the second week of January!) Actually, I am thinking about Jonathan Edwards. The great American...

Years ago, there was a widely circulated idea that everyone is six or fewer social connections away from each other. It was called “Six Degrees of Separation,” or the “Six Handshake Rule.” It is the idea that “friend to friend” connections (with...

I love listening to Handel’s Messiah around Christmas time. Although it was originally presented as an Easter musical, it just seems to highlight many aspects of the holiday season. Let me share a bit of the back story associated with that...

Last Sunday, our pastor entitled his Christmas series of messages, “Home for the Holidays.” He reminded us that home is linked with warm relationships. It is usually a comfortable place where we feel contented and connected. It’s a link to our...

It’s the time of the year for making lists. We have lists of things we need to get done around the house before our loved ones can come for a visit. We have lists of projects we need to finish so that perfect gift can be home made. We have grocery...

I love a good story. This one is about a midwestern farmer. Apparently, one night a fierce desert storm struck with rain, hail, and a high wind. At daybreak, feeling sick and fearing what he might find, the farmer went to survey his loss. The hail...

I remember my first bicycle. It was blue and white and had plastic streamers imbedded in the grips on the steering bar. It had one of those cute ringers that you pushed with your thumb. And most of the time, I stuck playing cards on the spokes so...

I am a storyteller and when I find a good one, I love to pass it along. It seems that “many years ago in a small hotel in Philadelphia, USA, an elderly couple, on a business trip from England, approached the night clerk seeking a room. ‘We have...

I love this story…the noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked...

A Dutch Supermarket introduced checkout lanes for lonely elderly people who want someone to talk to. The plan was so successful that they went ahead and installed those checkouts in all their 200 stores. They also added. A ‘chat corner’ where...