What comes to mind when you think of joy? Many would associate it with happiness. Although related, there are some differences between the two according to what the Bible says about joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual joy is necessary as a godly influence in the culture, ...

I have many stories of my old farmhouse and raising my children inside its walls. Living in an old home comes with charms. We have stained glass windows, a built-in buffet in our dining room, and old maple trees great for climbing in our yard. While updating old windows after ...

When the word “love” is mentioned, people think of many things. There is family love, romantic love, or commitment given to the other spouse in marriage. These are some examples of love as “an intense feeling of deep affection” or “a great interest or pleasure in something” as defined by ...

Living in the country, you see all types of abandoned things: old barns leaning sideways, grain bins with trees growing through open spaces in their roofing, and dilapidated farm houses that once had the light and laughter of life inside their walls. Close to my country home there sits an ...

Christians are exhorted in the Bible to not be conformed to the world. We are told to be the light in a spiritually dark world. The secular, and especially the woke culture, that is contrary to every thing the Bible teaches, must be counteracted, yet in a gentle and compassionate ...

When my sister and I were little, our Saturday afternoons were spent on a shopping trip with our mother. Before our city’s large mall was built in the early 1970’s, we had an outdoor shopping center with a large department store where we would go to the second floor to ...

Preparing to show ourselves to the world each morning usually takes some time. We want to look our best before we face the eyes and opinions of others. The 1950’s is a good place in time to look when considering the well-dressed.  Women of the time often cared for their ...

In the days before heat schedules, water bottles, and air conditioning in schools, concentrating on any subject was challenging. I remember how unbearable the late August heat could be. In my high school some of my classes were on the third floor of our building, built in 1916. Getting through ...

Are you awake to woke? By definition, woke is being aware of sensitive social and racial justice and movements. On the surface one could say that this is a good thing. Many Christians would agree that being aware of and compassionate toward injustice and social issues is the biblical attitude ...

When I was nine years old our family took a day trip to visit the tiny village where Abraham Lincoln spent several years as a young adult and had his first taste of politics. I remember how hot the day was, and how the log cabins had an old smell. ...