When God had finished creating the blue sky and the white ocean and the little field mice and the big giraffe, and he had put his finishing touches on Adam and Eve, he sat down for a rest. But while he was in his recliner, a thought popped into his head. He jumped to his… Continue reading When God Made Grandparents

Small town folks generally are a friendly bunch. I've lived in small places and in big places. I've found that the level of friendliness is in inverse proportion to the population. The general rule is the smaller the population, the greater the friendliness; the bigger the population, the less the friendliness. There may be exceptions,… Continue reading Hello, Howdy, and Hell Yeah

Orthodox Jews want to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Most would say it is a pipe dream. Other believers take the view that the Messiah will rebuild the sacred structure when he comes. Until the Third Temple is built one way or another, a partial wall from the Second Temple still stands on… Continue reading I Have Never Dwelt in a House

Being your mom is the greatest joy in my life. I wish I had had the courage to say those words to you before you left for college today. As you saw-- but tried not to see--my tears came more easily than my words. And the last thing you wanted today was another talk from… Continue reading The Things I Wanted to Say to My College Son

Creator: Good morning, my little friend. I understand you want to speak to me. I hope this early hour fits your schedule. Skunk: Forget the niceties. And don't pretend to be doing me any favors. I've had this request for an appointment with your secretary since about the time of Noah and his ark. My… Continue reading Conversation Overheard Between the Great Creator and a Disgruntled Creature

If you don't mind 100+ degree temperatures, the place you might want to visit on the second weekend of August is Vernon, Texas. There, each year, you will find "Summer's Last Blast." The popular event has a thirty year history. What makes Vernon's event special--aside from the heat, which is not so special in August--is… Continue reading Looking Back

Like Linus, I believe in a blankie. Although I don't carry mine around continuously as we see that wise-beyond-his-years "Peanuts" character does, still I have an emotional attachment to blankets that probably Linus alone can understand. "Happiness," Linus once philosophized, "is a warm blanket." Only the most heartless human being would argue with that belief.… Continue reading A Stitch in Time

God likes high places. Or, at least in our minds, he prefers a mountaintop perch. He's like an eagle with a nest on a high cliff, barely visible to the naked eye. There are good reasons the ancients thought that mountains were the dwelling place of "the Most High God." For one thing, the Divine… Continue reading God’s Zip Code

The legend of Big Foot has legs. Something about an ape-like man, muscular, body covered in dark hair, almost nine feet tall, who combs the woods in the Pacific Northwest, has a grip on popular imagination. Every few years, somebody reports a sighting of Big Foot. The description of him doesn't vary all that much… Continue reading Little Feet

Have you ever asked yourself where Tombstone, Arizona got its peculiar name? If you're like me, you probably assumed it was a town full of tombstones. We've all heard the story of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday and the infamous shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone. Shootouts usually result in tombstones. But, if… Continue reading When Words Aren’t Enough