Category: General

The Symptoms Behind Cord-Cutting

When we cut the cable TV cord two years ago, I thought we were trend-setters. However, judging by several conversations with people younger than me, we were late to the party. An increasing number talk about how they long ago cut cable or satellite service. In its place, they watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, computer clips…
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An Ancient Loss

Sometimes it take a while to follow up on good intentions. Long ago while en route to our oldest nephew’s graduation on Long Island, we stopped for a couple hours at the visitor’s center at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After also taking a brief self-guided car tour of nearby war monuments, we had to depart. As we…
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Hacking into Modern Life

I’ve been hacked. Or at least my personal information has. Not because I was careless, but because people “safeguarding” this sensitive personal data were asleep at the switch. The problem started in 2013, when I visited a skin specialist to examine potential trouble spots on my chest and back. He also found one on my…
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Our Personal Brownsville Revival

The August issue of Charisma marks the magazine’s 40th anniversary. Writing a number of the stories on 40 spiritual leaders featured in it represented a trip down Memory Lane. The journey included a surprise: in working on the new stories, I discovered I had written about several of these folks for the 20th anniversary issue…
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A Pleasant Detour

One of the pleasures of vacation is taking a break from checking email, looking at a computer, or otherwise keeping up with the world. And, thanks to a crammed pre-vacation work schedule, we had missed the announcement of New York’s ticker tape parade for the U.S. women’s soccer team. So the day of the parade…
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The Never-Ending Supply

Like many churches nationwide, ours has home groups (often called cell groups) that meet twice a month on Sunday evenings, with breaks during July and December. Once per “semester,” each group tackles some form of community outreach. This spring ours decided to visit a home that offers a combination of assisted living and skilled nursing…
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Rain Barrel Sprouting A Harvest

After watching tomato plants start in a seemingly positive direction before—as regular plants—producing grape-sized tomatoes, I don’t want to get too excited yet. But after watching my tomatoes, peppers and green beans sprouting a la “Jack in the Beanstalk” fashion less than two months after planting, I am quite optimistic. I credit this impressive development…
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A Family Film for Summer

As I noted in a recent blog, summer is often a season for good books. With families on vacation and out touring the countryside more than normal, it’s also a good time for blockbuster movies, as evidenced by the success of the latest entry in the “Jurassic” franchise. Yet my nomination for great summer viewing…
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Oiling Away the Pain With Essential Oils

It’s been nearly a year since I started using a blend of essential oils to help deal with the lingering effects of back pain sustained through a serious injury in 2013. Not only am I happy that I made the discovery that these oils could have health benefits, today I am even more positive in…
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The Harbinger: Great Summer Reading

I realize I’m dating myself, but I remember when this time of year brought widespread recommendations in various media about good “summer reads.” Namely, enjoyable books that one could take to the beach or other vacation outings. However, to put The Harbinger in the good-read-for-summer category strikes me as a bit of an insult. The…
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