The president of the United States typically gives a ‘State of the Union’ address to a joint session of Congress annually. Similarly, governors provide a ‘State of the State’ address and mayors, a ‘State of the City’. There is a general review on performance over the past year and new initiatives are presented. Some states and cities are on solid ground financially and operationally in preparing their ‘State of …’ Others, not so much.
I pray you are on solid ground as you review the ‘State of … read on
The noise level is still high. Follow the CDC guidelines or question them? Should one wear a mask or not? Is it compulsory to get the injection or a choice? Whatever the answers to these questions, too often the tendency is to demonize and even stigmatize one with the opposite point of view. Emotions run high and more division gets stirred up.
With Mother’s Day behind us and Father’s Day just ahead, how would you rate yourself on honoring your father and mother? Do you treat it as a Hallmark holiday or a command? It is a command, the one command with a promise – “… that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex.20:12). Does that provide motivation or do you see honor as an Old Testament thing?
Dennis Rainey has written a wonderful book titled ...read on
An annual tribute to my mother and encouragement to you:
She was an incredible woman. Born in 1921, she aspired to be a vocal performer. As a senior in high school, she contracted tuberculosis. Her dream to perform was no longer possible and the vocal scholarship to attend college was rescinded. She married a handsome Navy pilot just before he was deployed to the South Pacific Theater in WWII. He returned ...read on
Heads-up dads – the time gets by quickly. One dad reflected that it seemed like yesterday they brought their daughter home from the hospital. He could hold her in one hand and marveled at how beautiful and fragile she was. He naively pledged to never let go of her. Of course, he had to let go when she took her first step and several years later when she yelled, “Let go Daddy!” as he ran beside her bicycle.
Perspective for today - “When anyone is overcome by horror and repugnance in the presence of a deadly epidemic, he should take courage and strength in the firm assurance that it is the devil who stirs up such abhorrence, fear and loathing in his heart. He is such a bitter, knavish devil that he not only unceasingly tries to slay and kill, but also takes delight in making us deathly afraid, worried, and apprehensive so that we should regard dying as horrible and have no rest or peace all through our life.”
When do you think this was written, and by whom? ...read on
When schools shut down last year, parents in general were ill-equipped to stand in the gap for their kids’ education. Then when most churches moved to online services, there was another gap to fill. The reality hit home that they, dads and moms had not been as involved as they intended to be in two of the most critical areas of their children’s lives. The educational and spiritual development of their kids had effectively been abdicated to schools and churches.
It was about a year ago that I first heard a dad say, “This is like God giving us all a big ‘TIME OUT!’ to get our priorities straight.” In the midst of confusion and frustration around the progression from, “Fifteen days to flatten the curve”, to being introduced to mask mandates and social distancing, and then lockdowns, I saw the comment as a beautiful glimpse of God’s glory.
Before Covid, many dads and moms had been ...read on
On Broadway, the theaters historically have gone ‘dark’ on Mondays to provide a full day off after a Tuesday through Sunday production. Last March, all theaters in New York City and across the country along with sporting venues, restaurants and even churches went dark. All has been ‘dark’ for over a year now providing folks time off from some established norms.
Has this past year been 'dark' for you? Know that darkness never ...read on
In the 1950’s television series Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday would always say, “Just the facts, Ma’am” as he investigated the crime of the week. Emotions would impede the effectiveness of his investigation so he was quick to shut them down. Sgt. Friday did his job by cutting through emotional responses, working with facts and discerning the truth.
Today we have ‘fact-checkers’ that work to ...read on
The president of the United States typically gives a ‘State of the Union’ address to a joint session of Congress annually. Similarly, governors provide a ‘State of the State’ address and mayors, a ‘State of the City’. There is a general review on performance over the past year and new initiatives are presented. Some states and cities are on solid ground financially and operationally in preparing their ‘State of …’ Others, not so much.
The noise level is still high. Follow the CDC guidelines or question them? Should one wear a mask or not? Is it compulsory to get the injection or a choice? Whatever the answers to these questions, too often the tendency is to demonize and even stigmatize one with the opposite point of view. Emotions run high and more division gets stirred up.
With Mother’s Day behind us and Father’s Day just ahead, how would you rate yourself on honoring your father and mother? Do you treat it as a Hallmark holiday or a command? It is a command, the one command with a promise – “… that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex.20:12). Does that provide motivation or do you see honor as an Old Testament thing?
An annual tribute to my mother and encouragement to you:
Heads-up dads – the time gets by quickly. One dad reflected that it seemed like yesterday they brought their daughter home from the hospital. He could hold her in one hand and marveled at how beautiful and fragile she was. He naively pledged to never let go of her. Of course, he had to let go when she took her first step and several years later when she yelled, “Let go Daddy!” as he ran beside her bicycle.
Perspective for today - “When anyone is overcome by horror and repugnance in the presence of a deadly epidemic, he should take courage and strength in the firm assurance that it is the devil who stirs up such abhorrence, fear and loathing in his heart. He is such a bitter, knavish devil that he not only unceasingly tries to slay and kill, but also takes delight in making us deathly afraid, worried, and apprehensive so that we should regard dying as horrible and have no rest or peace all through our life.”
When schools shut down last year, parents in general were ill-equipped to stand in the gap for their kids’ education. Then when most churches moved to online services, there was another gap to fill. The reality hit home that they, dads and moms had not been as involved as they intended to be in two of the most critical areas of their children’s lives. The educational and spiritual development of their kids had effectively been abdicated to schools and churches.
It was about a year ago that I first heard a dad say, “This is like God giving us all a big ‘TIME OUT!’ to get our priorities straight.” In the midst of confusion and frustration around the progression from, “Fifteen days to flatten the curve”, to being introduced to mask mandates and social distancing, and then lockdowns, I saw the comment as a beautiful glimpse of God’s glory.
In the 1950’s television series Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday would always say, “Just the facts, Ma’am” as he investigated the crime of the week. Emotions would impede the effectiveness of his investigation so he was quick to shut them down. Sgt. Friday did his job by cutting through emotional responses, working with facts and discerning the truth.
