The cold and cynical way to look at the shootings at the country music festival in Las Vegas is to shrug it off as just part of life. Bad things happen, and I’m just glad they didn’t happen to me this week. As Haley Geftman-Gold,...
Not all recreation does the important work of re-creating. In Sunday’s message, I talked about the things with which we fill our schedule. Some of them are mandatory things like school or work, but there are other entries upon which we decide. What are our favorite...
What a tremendous victory! I can’t believe what a monumental moment in history occurred recently, and so many people missed. The battle has been waging for years, and finally we have a definitive victory! Of course, when you hear about the actual event, you will...
Disaster averted…things can get back to normal. The last few days have been extraordinary to the extreme. What a convergence of events we just had! With Texas still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, the Southeast got blasted with our own reminder of how insignificant our plans...
George Whitefield is considered by many as the greatest evangelist to have ever lived. That is a difficult title to bestow on someone because it is so subjective. What defines an evangelist? Is a mother who raises 11 children to be Jesus followers an evangelist, when two of those children started...
Our family eats a lot of avocados. It’s one of those foods that we like, and we make sure it is readily available. We love Mexican food, including homemade guacamole among other dishes including that yummy fruit, which is good for you. We like them! Last week,...
I have been bothered lately on several levels with the failings in the 7th Fleet, which operates out of Yokosuka, Japan. There have been four mishaps (the military term for an accident) in the last few months. The two most recent mishaps aboard the USS...
One of the things that makes our country great is the freedom to express ourselves, whether that be through speech or religion. The freedom of religion is the most important thing to me. In fact, the main job of a military chaplain is to ensure...
This is probably one of my least favorite Saturday nights of the year. Some people live for Daylight Saving Time; I do not. I remember being a child and loving the idea of an extra hour to play at the end of the day as...
Ever since I saw Matt Damon and Jude Law in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” I have loved the song “My Funny Valentine.” Damon performs the song in a scene in a jazz nightclub, and his rendition actually made it onto the soundtrack for the movie....
If you heard that loud rush of wind on Sunday night, January 22, you were not alone. Lowndes County residents were breathing a sigh of relief after the last of the thunderstorm/tornado bands moved through our community. Most of us know how close the tornadoes...
What’s the point?! At some time you have probably asked yourself that question. You may have been in a dead-end job, a rocky relationship, or at a point in your life where hope was playing hide-and-seek really, really well. In American society, living comfortably is relative....
After years of ministry, I would say the biggest misunderstanding about church is that church people have it all figured out. Church people go to shiny, sturdy and strong buildings that are impenetrable to sin and discord. These bastions of holiness do not let evil...
I was Christmas shopping at a toy store when I overheard a conversation in line about a new game. The game is called Speak Out. Apparently, you put a plastic mouthpiece in your mouth and try to read a tongue-twisting phrase so that your teammates...
I have heard it said that showing up is 80% of life, but surely there is more to it than that. So often we can show up to work, family events, and church without really showing up. The bar is set higher than that…it has...