On My Mind

Mark and Katy were living a happy life in our community and church when they were abruptly uprooted and transferred to a remote, thinly-populated outpost in Alberta, Canada. I stopped by to spend a night with them when a trip took me that way. We talked and laughed late into the night. But out of […]

I had a delightful meal at one of my favorite restaurants last night. Back home, emptying my pockets I discovered my credit card was missing. It hadn’t been stolen; I had just left my brain and my plastic behind at the restaurant. As I drove back to retrieve the orphaned card, I began thinking about […]

“No man ever steps in the same river twice,” wrote Heraclitus, “for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” The river has surged on. The man has changed for better or worse. These words are on a sticky note in my Bible … This morning I woke up to something that […]

Rabbi Chaim Feld has launched a campaign to zap loshon hora (a Hebrew term for “evil tongue”). “Loshon hora,” says Rabbi Feld, “is any talk that causes mental anguish, tarnished reputation, or the lowering of someone’s esteem in others’ eyes.” He wants to put a stop to it. Good luck with that, Rabbi—you’re declaring war […]

Mark Zuckerberg, head honcho at Facebook, is seldom seen in anything other than jeans and a gray T-shirt. He says that eliminating clothing decisions simplifies his schedule and keeps him centered on priorities. You may question his sartorial taste, but you have to admire his focus. Most successful people keep a tight focus on priorities—they […]

Their father was dead. Of the left-behind sons, Bunyan’s Greatheart said: If they see any place where the old pilgrim hath lain, or any print of his foot, it ministereth joy to their hearts, and they covet to lie or tread in the same. Perpetuating the principles of the “old pilgrim” is a tribute of […]

F.W. Boreham somewhere wrote about a family that lived in a comfortable house, with a delightful river running nearby. One day the river overflowed, the basement of the house flooded, and the chickens that roosted there drowned. The man of the house stormed off to see the landlord and told him he was giving notice […]

“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there … Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it’” (Luke 19:30-31). What do you do when you catch a couple of rustlers red-handed, […]

Approval rating of politicians is at an all-time low. When Americans were asked to rank 22 professions for honesty and ethical standards in Gallup’s latest survey, Congress scored next-to-last. We long for integrity in our elected leaders; but sadly, it no longer surprises us when a politician is caught lying, discovered taking bribes, exposed as […]

It was printed in the church bulletin: “There will be no service on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.” Ditto in the Sunday handout: “There will be no service on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.” Before beginning his sermon the minister tossed out this reminder: “There will be no service on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.” And again in […]