Joe Barnett

He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.                      —Jeremiah 10:13 Opened in 1965, Houston’s Astrodome was the world’s first domed sports stadium. Dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” it brought climate-controlled 72-degree comfort to sports fans who had […]

[L]et your light shine.    —Matthew 5:16 Melissa O’Connor was giving her grade schoolers in Sunrise, Florida, instructions for a writing assignment: “write about a person you admire, someone who is important to you—like moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas.” As they began writing, the kid who was Melissa’s biggest challenge, raised his hand. She

An anxious heart weighs a man down.                  —Proverbs 12:25 For years Gregg Teears saw his dad touch a branch of the bush near their front door every day when he came home from work. One day he asked him why he did it. “I try to hang

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.                           —Matthew 7:1 Ninety-year-old Mama Marshall never uttered an unkind word about anyone. When someone was harshly judgmental of another, she always gently said, “Maybe she’s going through a hard period of hurt.” After

[H]e gives [gifts] to each one, just as he determines.                               —1 Corinthians 12:11 Bum Phillips, known for his trademark cowboy hat and quick quips, coached the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980. He had a punishing runner in Hall of

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.                             —Isaiah 49:16 In Hindu traditions, married women display a sindoor (a red dot) at the parting line of their hair to declare their wedded commitment. In our part of the world,

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.        —Psalm 121:2 One of twelve-year-old Bill Frey’s chores was to scout the family’s Georgia farm for stumps of pine trees that had been cut down, grub them out and chop them into kindling. He was struggling with a stubborn one

Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.              —1 Corinthians 1:31 Solomon tried on lots of hats in pursuit of happiness. He had a boatload of wealth and wisdom. “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired,” he said. The result? “[E]verything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Eccl

I have loved you with an everlasting love.                    —Jeremiah 31:3 There isn’t anything about us that God doesn’t know. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” God told Jeremiah; “before you were born I set you apart” (Jer 1:5). Paul said ditto for