We are creatures of habit and love the familiar. I do not assign seats in my college classes but 90% of the time students will sit in the same chair they got the first day. When I take attendance I automatically look at the chair...
Antique stores fascinate me because they are filled with priceless junk from my childhood. I walk around and say, “Oh, look. I had one of those. I wonder what happened to IT.” I most likely was looking at IT. Recently I was in one that...
Over 150,000 people were buried as a result of the Haitian earthquake. I have been trying to grapple with that number. I have been trying to put it in perspective. This evening my wife and I went to a wake. As the people flowed by...
The small diner is just a half block from one of our town's Catholic churches. This morning the parish priest was in the diner when the bell began to ring announcing it was time for mass to begin. Hurrying to the door he ran into...
So often we misuse Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” I can understand why we do it. When tragedy strikes we desperately try to make...
An almost full moon hovers over our six degree evening. Winter has made herself at home in New England. Long gray shadows artistically lace across the snow creating eerie art that changes moment by moment. An owl fluffs his feathers while silently watching for a...
After slipping into the driver's seat, inserting the key into the ignition, I put the car in reverse to back out of a hospital parking space. Almost instantly I heard a steady beeping from the car's rear radar telling me something was very close. I...
We ate this evening beside three of the happiest children. All through our meal we were serenaded with happy sounds. It was better than any concert no matter how skilled the musicians. There is something magical about the sounds of happy children that cannot be...
Occasionally I receive emails from individuals who remind me that even though salvation is free we can't go on sinning as usual. What I want to say but won't because it wouldn't be nice is "Duh!" Of course not. If one truly understands God's incredible...
It just seemed like a good ice cream day. I realize that 30 degrees, a gray sky and a fresh layer of snow don't seem like a good ice cream day, but the truth is any day is a good ice cream day. So I...