Several years ago I visited the Greek island of Crete where I saw what is considered the oldest tree on earth—an olive tree. It’s estimated to be 3,000 years old and is still producing olives. Later, Phyllis, my wife, and I visited the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where we saw olive trees believed to…
3 Reasons to be SILENT in the Face of Pain. Minutes after my sweet mother passed away, her pastor called to let me know Mama unexpectedly died from a stroke. I caught the first plane home. A large crowd had gathered in Mama’s living room. As I was about to enter, I remember thinking, “The…
Faith and Forgiveness. Confusing Sandy dropped out of church completely and no one knew why. Her friends called and tried to find out what was going on. After three months of hearing a string of vague excuses for her absence, they asked me, her pastor, to check on her. I called her repeatedly, but when…
The moment a newborn cries out a collective sigh of relief echoes through the delivery room. The baby is alive and breathing. Air can be life-giving. On the other hand, air can be life-taking. When air moves at speeds over two hundred miles per hour in a killer-tornado, air becomes a horrific, destructive force. Our…
Who Is On Your Mean-the-Most List? Some people picture God as the super-policeman of the universe who keeps his supernatural eye on his human creatures, hoping to catch them doing something wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over thousands of years, the many authors of the Bible observed God’s acts and attitude towards…
We artists try to create beauty. We see beauty all around us and work hard to translate what we see onto a canvas so we can share with others what we see and feel. Even the best artists confess that they are fall short of the ultimate beauty created by our Heavenly Creator. As lovely as human art is, our…
Don’t Miss Your Shot. When my son-in-law, Mike, took this photo he calls “Moon Over Tapatio,” he had only a few seconds to get the shot before the clouds moved in and he missed his opportunity. That’s the way it is with many important decisions in our lives. We see a chance to do something…
Have you seen the popular TV commercial about calming vests for dogs with anxiety issues? After seeing this curious spot, my wife and novelist, Phyllis Clark Nichols, shared some laughable and helpful spiritual insights in her brief blog “Troubled or Tranquil? That is the question!” You’ve got to read this one.
From my earliest memory, my dad taught me to live by Booker T. Washington’s aphorism, “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” Later in life, I learned that Washington’s old saying sounded true, but it was not. The fact is most successful people in any arena…
Does One Light Really Make Any Difference? I love the Christmas Eve candlelight service in our church. All the lights in sanctuary are slowly turned off until the room is pitch black symbolizing the world’s condition before Jesus was born. About the time our eyes get adjusted to the darkness, our pastor lights the…