Barefoot, hooded and clad in black, dancers from Palm Beach Atlantic University glided across the stage to open the true story of Rabeka, a South Sudanese woman who made vibrantly embroidered bedsheets to sell in her village market. A tragic shadow fell over the rich colors of Rabeka’s work as background music faded and the dancers depicted what happened when soldiers ravaged the village. “The women gathered as much as they could carry in a sheet and ran for their lives,” explained a narrator. “Rabeka was running with her bedsheet and her children when a soldier stopped her, grabbed one […]

Darkness before the sun My mother was born in 1924, which makes her 98. The year she took her first breath coincided with the formation of the Mercedes-Benz Corporation, the naming of J. Edgar Hoover to head the FBI, the fascists winning the election in Italy by 2/3 majority and the end of construction of the Wrigley Building. As one of 11 children, she has witnessed the passing of eight of her siblings; only two “young” sisters are living, one 86, the other 92. She has attended dozens of funeral and memorial services during the past 30 or so years […]

Scroll down to leave a comment on St. Patrick. We live in a time of the anti-hero. Too often, the good guys are the bad guys and vice versa.  But to see a true hero, look at the real St. Patrick, who has a day dedicated in his honor. Unfortunately, many people only observe his holiday, March 17, by drinking themselves silly, which is totally contrary to the spirit of the man who Christianized Ireland. In fact, Patrick shows what God can do through someone who is committed fully to Him.  Thomas Cahill, author of the book, How the Irish […]

There is a tension that exists between our physical bodies and our spiritual ones. Have you heard the phrase, “you can be so heavenly bound that you are no earthly good?” The general idea is that sometimes we allow one to disconnect from the other, and that is not how God created us. I am guilty of allowing the “cares of this world” to infiltrate my perspective. Sometimes I am so focused on the here and now that I lose a sense of purpose and focus, my world gets cluttered, and I tend to drift. However, there are times that […]