Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember those who died in service for our country, the United States of America. It’s difficult to prove the origins of this day as over two dozen towns and cities lay claim to the birthplace. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson stepped in and officially declared Waterloo, […]
Have you ever prayed for something and then had to wait? Patience is a virtue, and it is something we need to have more of. We all want the pandemic to be over, but we had to wait as more and more people were vaccinated. Decades ago, author Catherine Marshall wrote, “Prayers, like eggs, don’t […]
Con Campbell wrote about President Abraham Lincoln wanting to please a politician, so he issued a command to transfer certain Union Army regiments. When the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, received the order, he refused to carry it out. He said the president was a fool. Lincoln was told what Stanton had said, and he […]
The writer of Ecclesiastes recognizes the beauty of companionship, saying that friends help you accomplish more than you could achieve on your own (v. 9). Companions help in time of need (v. 10), and friends can provide protection in difficult situations (v. 12). Ecclesiastes reflect the confusion we all wrestle with when dealing with the […]
“Well done good and faithful Servant” appears 69 times in scripture. Matthew 25:21 says, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Rev. Dan Garrett passed away this week from pancreatic cancer. […]
My son lives in a Townhouse in Alexandria. The Townhouse is very pretty but it has plaster walls. He wanted to mount a small shelf on the wall and could not get the screw to hold. I told him he’d have to drill into the lattice board behind the plaster to get the support he […]
About four years ago, I had a bad case of bacterial meningitis. I was close to death and spent ten days in VCU Hospital. When I returned home, I got a package from my sister-in-law who lives in Georgia. It was a Prayer Shawl she had knitted and it was all green and black. She […]
Ecclesiastes seeks to answer life’s greatest mystery: How can one live a meaningful and purposeful life? Trapped between birth and death (3:2), he explores area after area of life. All that humanity can pursue – intellectual pursuits, knowledge, pleasures, happiness, accomplishments, material possessions, work (chs. 1-3) – to show that life without God – life […]
It’s the day after Easter! In the final chapter of Luke, there appears a beautiful story about two men, distraught over the death of Jesus, who find themselves in deep conversation with Jesus, himself – only they didn’t realize who they were talking to. It’s a powerful tale, filled with lessons about discernment, hope, and […]
Luke makes clear that Jesus is the one in control. Luke aims to inspire awe in us for Jesus. Even though the odds seemed stacked against him, it turns out that everyone has played into Jesus’ plan. The resurrection of Jesus is the most astounding event in the history of the world. It’s more than […]