For the past two months my head has been occupied with number crunching to the point that there was little opportunity for wordsmithing. Income tax season officially ends tomorrow and I think I have finished anything pertaining to that for this year. Now I can try to capture and organize the thoughts that have been … Continue reading Practical Christianity
Henny Penny and her kindred
The story, as I heard it in my childhood, goes like this. Henny Penny, a rather ordinary hen, is contentedly sleeping in the warm sunshine when an acorn falls on her head. She awakens in a flap and begins squawking, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" The other hens are alarmed and one … Continue reading Henny Penny and her kindred
The alternative to a peaceful and contented heart
Neither prosperity not empire nor heaven can be worth winning at the price of a virulent temper, bloody hands, an anguished spirit, and a vain hatred of the rest of the world.-John Milton
Thank you War Amps
My wife's keys came home in the mail today. They went missing two months ago; it must have happened between our car in a mall parking lot and the Tim Horton's inside the mall where we had dinner. There was a keychain with a car key, two house keys and a War Amps tag. This … Continue reading Thank you War Amps
Who was “John the Revelator”?
It has become common in some Christian circles to speak of the writer of the book of Revelation as being "John the Revelator." Who was this guy? This nom de plume seems to have originated with German Bible scholars of the 19th century who approached the Bible as literature, simply a series of writings produced … Continue reading Who was “John the Revelator”?
The story arc
Have you ever read a book which follows the life of a main character, yet there doesn't seem to be a story? This character does a variety of things, things good and bad happen to him or her, but they are just disconnected happenings without a point. Evidently, the writer had no idea how to … Continue reading The story arc
Demonstration of power
A mortar and pestle used to be standard equipment in kitchens, pharmacies and high school science labs. They could be made of stone, wood or metal, but most often they were ceramic, as in the picture below. Image by ariesa66 from Pixabay Sixty-five years ago I sat in a high school classroom as our teacher demonstrated how gunpowder … Continue reading Demonstration of power
Quality assurance and child training
I spent fifteen years working in the quality assurance department of an auto parts factory and have a certificate showing that 30 years ago I was certified as a quality engineer. There are a few simple lessons I learned during that time that I believe apply as much to little people in the home as … Continue reading Quality assurance and child training
The mode of baptism
From Introduction to Theology, page 239 by J. C. Wenger, © 1954 by Herald Press, Scottdale, Pa.: In 1899 a Christian minister from Pennsylvania (A. D. Wenger) visited the catacombs of Rome. One day he walked out the Appian Way to the catacomb of St. Callistus. “I had been in other parts of this catacomb … Continue reading The mode of baptism
80
That is my age, as of today. I saw my doctor for my annual physical checkup yesterday. He told me that I am fine and that arthritis is normal for someone my age. In other words, arthritis, like old age, is incurable. I got to thinking about a couple of Bible verses relating to old … Continue reading 80
