Meditations and Reflections

I dread dealing with bureaucracies. They are huge, complex institutions that famously default to “NO.” (1) There are exceptions!...

Fort Jackson, South Carolina, 1972. Anyone who went through basic training will vividly remember the Drill Sergeants’ favorite terms of...

A familiar idea, often viewed narrowly in a political sense. Sadly, all institutions carry this risk, even church denominations, public...

Many seeking a job for which they are perfectly suited, are frustrated by one of the “-isms.” Unable to find a job (or even an interview)...

Do you believe in love at first sight? The famous thunderbolt that struck Michael Corleone when he first saw Apollonia Vitelli? The...

Almost true. The saying is, they only move twice – to marry, and to die. So the vacancy rate is tiny. We arrived in Limburg in early...

Have you ever experienced an event so rare, so statistically unlikely, that the possibility it is random must be excluded? If so, how...

There are no coincidences, only Providential intent! [Part One]. Have you ever experienced an event so rare, so statistically unlikely,...

God is merciful, God is compassionate, God is...Australian?? (No worries, Mate!) One of my biggest obsessions --fear, really -- was that...

8 May, 2018 I'm up early, listening to the rushing snow-melt stream at Baker Creek Camp Ground in Great Basin NP. Altitude about 7500...

Avoiding sinful acts is not enough. Obedience to Christ requires positive deeds: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and...

Geraldine was a comedic character invented by Flip Wilson. Frequent appearances on TV in the sixties and seventies TV popularized her...

Titus 2:1-10: "[behave] that the word of God not be discredited." Augustine (1) "... our reputation among you ought not to be...

Psalm 42:1-3: "As a hart [Ed; deer] pants for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the...

Ephesians 2:10: "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in...

Psalm 4:1 & 3: " Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and...

Isaiah 43:25: "I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Repentance is the very...

Amos was hard on those who had resources, but used them to enjoy luxurious life styles, even to the extent of feasting on the Sabbath. ...

Basil the Great on salvaging one's life (1) Amos is probably the earliest of the Minor Prophets, writing around 750 B.C. He warns...

Exodus 21:24: "...an eye for an eye..." Augustine (1): "...by which expressions a certain measure is intended, so that the vengeance...