The United States of America has often been called “the melting pot.” Our population tends to end up blended into one swirling mass, not quite homogeneous (like Sweden) but still mostly American, mostly English-speaking. In that pot we find over thirty-seven significant ancestry groups, with five making up most of the country. While English is …
Now we fast forward a few years, and our story gets truly sordid. I know, right? Ruth had Obed, and he begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. Everybody knows about King David. Everybody loves David – he’s the Biblical real deal, so popular that David remains the second most popular boy name in the United …
From our first woman in our Christmas story, Tamar, to the time of Rahab there were six generations. We left the last story with Rahab surviving the destruction of Jericho and she apparently married a man named Salmon and they had a child named Boaz. And Boaz becomes the connection for our next not-so-famous Christmas …
Before we get to the second woman in our Christmas story, we need to take a very brief look at Joshua and the children of Israel. They were just wrapping up an arduous forty years in the wilderness, a journey fraught with peril (much of it self-imposed). Now they stood on the banks of the …
The Christmas Story has been told many ways, focusing on different people and a variety of events. Several women are key to the story, not the least of which are Mary and Elizabeth, but deep back there in the past we find some significant women who played an unwitting part in the story of the …
So it’s Thanksgiving morning. You stumble out of bed and head to the bathroom to pee. Push the handle and away it goes (where does it go, anyway?) Better head to the kitchen and get the coffee on. While it’s brewing maybe a hot shower – love that gas water heater, I mean, it HEATS …
So there I was, at a new restaurant, trying to decipher the menu. Too many choices, lots of options shouting for attention from the shiny, colorful menu. The server had rattled off the specials, and when she reappeared, I asked her to repeat them. She did a fine job of selling me on one of …
As a new believer, a young adult fresh to Biblical Christianity, I was pretty excited. My prospects had not been so bright in the years before, and now I found myself beginning a pilgrimage with some great friends, a supportive group, and a good attitude. The only thing missing was a special person to share …
It’s been over forty years since I began my pilgrimage, over four decades of following, shakily, in the footsteps of Jesus (because, in essence, that is what a Christian is: a follower of Christ). Having had the opportunity to be a part of a variety of expressions of that faith by joining, serving, visiting - …
I know Mother’s Day has always been a challenge for you. You didn’t have the best experience being mothered, although your mother loved you. Your childhood was hardly the stuff of Hallmark cards, but you did the best you could with what you had. You’re not my mother, but… when I first met you your …
Life On Purpose 