I love Christmas. The music, lights, and decorations. The tree and the ornaments, the Christmas village, and especially the nativity scenes. Of all my Christmas decorations, my favorite is a large tabletop display that includes a manger set in the midst of a hustling,...
It’s the first day of December and the Christmas wars are already in full swing. You might have enlisted if you: correct sales clerks when they say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” give your name as “Merry Christmas” when placing a Starbucks order,...
Another uproar. Another point of division in a divided country. Another debate about free speech. The gifted, diverse cast of a Broadway play exercised their right to free speech by making a political appeal to a VIP in the audience. Supporters of the cast affirmed...
Can you identity the companies by these slogans? “Can You Hear Me Now?” “Just Do It” “The Quicker Picker Upper” Companies usually consider certain criteria when creating a marketing slogan or tagline. They look for phrases that will differentiate their brand while...
In the past two months, I’ve been aware of several eye problems occurring among my friends. One friend had cataract surgery in both eyes. Another’s son experienced scratched corneas in both eyes. Although his eyes are now healed, at the time the doctor considered the...
Ahhh…the beginning of a new month. This is usually the time when I’m asking if anyone knows where the previous month went…and wondering how we can get it back. Not this month. And that’s because Christmas is in 52 days! Yes, I know, most people don’t want to hear...
Growing up in New York, I learned at an early age that chicken soup is good for what ails you. Cold, wintry day? Warm up with a bowl of chicken soup. Sore throat? Sooth it with a bowl of chicken soup. Upset stomach? Yup…chicken soup is easy to digest. But chicken soup...
A line from the 1934 Babes in Toyland came to mind recently: “Big bait catches big rat!” It’s a quote by the villain, Barnaby, after he successfully traps the two hapless heroes, Laurel & Hardy. I’m reminded of that line almost every time I scroll through my...
Our family recently survived a brush with Matthew, a category 4 hurricane. No, that’s not quite right. Compared to some other locations, we did more than survive. We thrived. Yes, we cleared away debris, and several neighbors lost large trees. But all in all we were...
This is the most ironic blog post I’ve ever written. Ironic because I’m writing to complain about…yep, you guessed it. Complainers. I spent most of Wednesday helping to seal our house in expectation of Hurricane Matthew’s arrival. This was not our first rodeo. Having...
How Desensitized Are You? As I write this, my phone is dinging. Breaking news: “At least 12 dead after massive...
Called, Loved, and Kept There’s a lot of talk in Christian circles about being “called,” and rightly so. The...
Life-Changing Advice I’ll never forget Betty. Betty was an older woman I knew from church when I was a young...