February is the month of hearts, flowers, cards and kind words. Valentine’s Day reminds us to say “I love you” more often. Scripture, however, gently challenges us to go further. In 1 John 3:18 we are reminded, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Love according to the Gospel is meant to be lived, not just spoken.   Maria’s story Maria’s story is a powerful example of what that kind of love looks like in real life. Shortly after Christmas 2024, when many families were still enjoying holiday leftovers and decorations, […]

“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” (Philemon 7 NIV).   It was the 1960s. What a time to be in high school. In fact, I have always felt a tinge of sorrow for those who were not teenagers during the golden oldies days of the sixties. Those were the days of pep rallies and pompoms, glasspack mufflers and drag races, Bass Weejuns and Levi’s, button-down collars and madras windbreakers, hayrides and sock hops, the Beatles, and… high school English! When it came time to do my […]

A couple of days ago, Colby asked me at the gym to review his newly completed term paper for content, spelling and grammar. Besides being a close acquaintance, this young man is a very dedicated and hard-working individual, so I paused my workout and began to check the 10-page essay focusing on the Chinese dynasties. The read was rather boring but well thought out and constructed in a proper fashion. What intrigued me, however, was the purpose of the exercise. This young man is paying substantial amounts of money to a learning institution in hopes of preparing him for future […]