Significant research is being done regarding how reading books can make a difference in the lives of children.  Both the New York Times and USA Today recently referred to a study which is scheduled to be published later this year in Reading Psychology.  For three years, a researcher from the University of Tennessee studied students […]

In Alabama neither college football season nor political campaigning ever ends.  In May I read my first projection of what teams will play in which bowl games.  It is now June and we have completed the first round of the state primary elections, but we are in the midst of political run offs, and the […]

Recently, someone asked me if my theology was “reformed?”  The term “reformed theology” is currently a “hot button” among many evangelicals.  To some, it is becoming the single-question litmus test to help people know whether you are one of “us” or one of “them.”  Book publishers and blog writers have learned how and where to […]

Recently a good man who was tragic figure in American history died. While you may not know his name, you were impacted by a decision he made.
On December 7, 1941 Kermit Tyler was on his second day of manning the air traffic center at Fort Shafter in Hawaii.  A private on his first day of […]

Heroes often die unnoticed but their virtues continue to live. Recently the death of Mel Cuba, a 99-year-old resident of Del Ray, Florida, went for the most part unnoticed, but his greatest virtues continue to impact the next generation.
On August 8, 1933 forty orphanage residents were swept away by a wave while on excursion to […]

People who are on the path to good character are always in the process of re-creation, not just recreation, which is too often confused with entertainment.   Entertainment is an amusement or a diversion, while recreation is the refreshment of strength and spirit. In order to emphasize the right meaning of recreation in this blog post, […]

It’s that time of year!  Every December we hear a peppering of commentary in Christian circles protesting the fleecing of the real meaning of Christmas.  Many Christians cringe as the media and secular culture substitute the “Merry Christmas” greeting with “Happy Holidays.”   Understandably, believers feel compelled to remind society of the origins of our traditional […]

“Like a stray dog at a whistler’s convention” is an old witticism that portrays the way many people live. In fact, for most of us, some days it appears that everyone is calling for our attention.  However, if you attempt to respond to every external beckoning, you will feel like a frenetic, out-of-breath dog that […]

Recently two new stories that under normal circumstances would have been ignored by the media became prime time news and the subject of many radio talk shows.  The first story involved a politician calling another politician a liar. That alone is about as newsworthy as the morning sunrise. It happens every day in every country. […]

Have you ever heard John Cage’s three-movement piece entitled 4’33”?  John Cage, a well known composer who wrote this creative piece, and David Tudor, an accomplished pianist, debuted it in a piano recital in New York in August of 1952. If you are not familiar with it, stop by the church and I will play […]