Good-Bye

Saturday, March 29th, 2014

Most of us speak it several times a day without ever thinking of the origin of the word. In an ever so casual demeanor we issue the greatest of divine blessing upon all those from whom we depart. We may issue it in a letter or even in the course of terminating a conversation on the street. The word is the simple valediction of “Good-Bye”. Most of us may never even think about it, but the word is actually a contraction of the Middle English phrase God be with ye. It was originally shortened to Godbwye and subsequently evolved to the forms we know today as goodbye, or good-bye. (more…)

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Honor Guard

Saturday, March 15th, 2014

What a blessing the Honor Guard is to those in military service! It demonstrates high standards of appearance and conduct. They provide funeral honors for fallen comrades, guard national monuments, and the flag. In effect they act as ambassadors, or sentinels of honor.  But what does it actually mean that they guard the honor, or protect the honor of the military? It means to guard or demonstrate respect, esteem, affirm, and even cherish those they hold to be of value. They get it! They realize the benefit of affirmation, and ascription of honor to individuals so deserving. But this is nothing new to the wisdom of God. (more…)

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Grunion, Unicorn, and the Non-Argumentation of Proof Against the Existence of God

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

“Top of the Morning” article posted in the Inyo Register

As a child many times I went out in search of the intrepid grunion. The legendary fish was said to come into shore at mysterious hours of the night to spawn whereupon they could be grasped with the mere hand. But if there was any light or disturbance they would postpone their arrival or relocate to another venue. Many times I waited in a sleeping bag with a bucket for the time when they would arrive in the wee morning hours for their mating dance, but alas, they did not. I began to think they could just be a myth in the same caliber as the fabled unicorn, but the best I could say was that they were not real to me each of those nights. (more…)

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Praying for Reign

Saturday, March 8th, 2014

In these radical weather patterns we are having lately, it seems all the talk is about global warming over and above any other possible alternative “culprits.” In the east temperatures well below zero are the highs. This wonderful weather in the west, the brilliant bright sunny skies in the middle of winter reveal mountainsides with late summer pallor due to the absence of water. We have trees budding, bushes blooming and grass growing- all in the middle of winter. Oh sure, it feels good but we need cold blustery and wet days. We need water. Though the temperature and weather feels good, is not a blessing. (more…)

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A Privacy Issue

Saturday, March 1st, 2014

Several years ago a friend of mine volunteered with the local AWANA program. His job was to listen as various students recited Bible verses they had memorized the previous week. He made sure the memorization was correct, but always went a step further. By asking each child what they thought the verse was saying, he discovered what the verse meant to them. He didn’t want them to simply commit a string of words to memory; he wanted to be sure they knew what God was telling them from His Word. (more…)

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