On this Christmas Day look at our Gospel Lesson in Matthew 2:1-12: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For...
Tonight's the night! And my girls are absolutely thrilled to go to bed after Liturgy this evening! Why? Not because it's bedtime, but because after Liturgy in the morning, we're going to "mawmaw's" house and that means chocolate cake AND presents! It really is the most wonderful time of...
I struggle with road rage! There, I said it. I guess it comes from my years as a police officer, trained in the rules of the road, trained as a defensive drive and in high speed chases (very terrifying, by the way!) It just gets on my nerves when...
"Do you think this is funny? This is not a game, young man!" I had made the serious mistake of smiling while coach was scolding me for messing up a play on the field. In my defense (which didn't play well either, plus it actually WAS a game!) I...
Since the most ancient of times salt has been important to the cultures who had it. In fact, there was a time when salt was even used as currency. Where do you think the old saying came from "He's worth his salt." Salt has been used to preserve, season, and...
There is a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet that I have always loved. It comes in Act 1, scene 5: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." It's such a wonderful encounter in the play, and it serves as a wonderful illustration...
Sometimes you have to wonder why we so easily miss it. You know, the obvious stuff that, once we see it, we wonder how we missed it in the first place! That's why I love puzzles like "where's Waldo" because once you see him, you can't "unsee" him. My...
Yeah, THAT old saying! A quote from Virgil's Aeneid says "the descent to hell is easy." And no one ever expects their good intentions to turn out bad. That's the "law of unintended consequences." It seems we humans are better at coming up with witty quotes than we are...
As a former police officer, I remember well having to memorize the rules of the road so that I could ENFORCE the rules. Of course all these laws were on the books for people's safety, but I can't tell you how tempting it was to reduce that central purpose...
I know, I know, I should be more patient, but I confess a deep sense of frustration when I'm trying to explain how to get the wifi to work to someone. It's so simple and yet, they don't get it! Of course, I remind them, it's not that easy...
