Image via Wikipedia Pentecost is the one major Christian festival that has so far escaped commercialism. No one has yet come up with a way to market Pentecost. There are no bunnies or bonnets for Pentecost as there are for Easter. No one goes out and buys a new Pentecost outfit for a Pentecost parade. [...]
In many parts of the world January 6, the Day of Epiphany, is the day for giving gifts. According to tradition January 6 (one or two years later) is the date that the Magi – the “wise men” or “three kings” of Matthew – actually arrived in Bethlehem to bring their gifts to the Christ [...]
A few years ago a couple of friends of ours had a baby. Nothing unusual about that, it’s been going on for a few million years. But the circumstances of this birth were a bit different. Barbara woke up with labor pains, she and her husband picked up the suitcase they had previously packed, hustled [...]
One of the most remarkable of the Biblical Christmas stories is that of the Magi, the “wise men” or the “three kings” who make their way to Bethlehem to worship the young Jesus. Technically it is not even a Christmas story, it actually belongs to Epiphany, which takes place following the 12 days of Christmas, [...]
Ever try to take a two year-old on a straight-ahead, point-A-to-point-B walk? It’s not going to happen. Children that age have an entirely different idea of the whole process. For a two year-old, there is no sense of accomplishment with simply traveling from here to there. When you are two, the world is still a [...]
When asked how he has the energy and passion for his global-justice campaigns, along with continuing his musical career of concerts and recordings, rock band U2’s faithful lead singer Bono stated, “You have to dream out loud and in full color.” No whisper dreams here. No black-and-white dreams that quickly fade from memory. We have [...]
As part of what came to be called the Pygmalion Study (think My Fair Lady), a group of researchers from Harvard contacted an elementary school teacher at the beginning of a school year. They told the teacher that they had designed a test that would correctly predict which students were going to grow intellectually during [...]
An amazing event happened in my family’s life in August. My brother, whom I did not even know existed four months ago, came to Texas for a visit. Some of you know that I was adopted at birth and grew up in a close and loving family. Outside of a natural curiosity, I had never [...]
We are going to Massachusetts to help our oldest son, Kevin, move. He is finishing his Master’s degree in physics this summer and is applying for a job. We may be packing him off to who knows were or he may be returning to Texas to continue the search. Of course he hopes that returning [...]
Born in France on July 10, 1509, John Calvin, the spiritual father of Reformed Christians, including Presbyterians, turns 500 this year. As a young man Calvin had at one time planned to be a Catholic priest but eventually entered law school. After discovering the writings of Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther and reading the [...]