Good morning: One problem which has received a great deal of attention lately is the divisiveness which can be seen everywhere from Congress to next door neighbors. “Why can’t we just get along?” people ask. Why does there have to be so much bickering, disagreement, and even violence among those who don’t see things the…
Good morning: It’s been almost ten years since an elderly Spanish woman made international headlines, but not in a good way. Though well-intentioned, she ended up ruining a 19th century painting of Christ wearing a crown of thorns. She noticed some fading and flaking paint and decided that she could fix the painting. Her unskilled…
Good morning: Will what you do today matter? Will it make a difference in the world? It might not seem that way. What will Saturday house cleaning matter? A load of laundry washed won’t help the neighborhood. Overtime at work won’t even be a tiny blip on the radar of the nation’s economy. So why…
Good morning, Imagine being confined to an apartment no bigger than some bedrooms, not just for a day or two or even a week, but for months on end. Meals are left outside your door, and while you can talk to loved ones over the phone, there is no physical contact with anyone. It has…
Good morning, “It’s not just for breakfast anymore!” This was a popular slogan promoted by the Florida Orange Growers Association. The message is clear. You’re missing out if you just think of orange juice as something to wash down your Cheerios at breakfast. It’s a refreshing, nutritious beverage anytime of day or night. What about…
Good morning: Sometimes it takes “fresh eyes” to really see and appreciate something. A few days ago one of our younger grade school students asked me, “Is there going to be some more winter?” It was Groundhog Day and while she liked winter, she apparently worried that it was nearly over. I assured her that…
Good morning: Did you have one of those arguments yesterday in which you were determined to prove you were right. Maybe it was over something embarrassingly trivial, like what year did the Beatles break up as a band? It doesn’t make any real difference in anything, and yet you were going to get the satisfaction…
Good morning: What comes to mind when you hear the word “repent”? Years ago there was an individual who had a prime seat for seemingly every major sporting event. He positioned himself so that he was always in the background of the TV shots, and he always held up a large sign with the one…
Good morning: Why is it that you can be totally exhausted at the end of a busy workday or a long week of dealing with life’s little crises, and yet still find plenty of energy to spend hours with a favorite hobby or to tackle a major home renovation project? It’s the difference between “have…
Good morning: “Rise and shine!” You crack an eyelid open as a cheery voice wakes you from a sound sleep. Do you feel much like “shining”? The room is cold, but it’s toasty and comfortable under the quilts. Maybe it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm for the day because of a mess you made…