The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. In a narrow canyon in Norway, a little village didn't get a whole lot of sunlight. But one day that changed. "Those who lived in a land of deep darkness" were brought into the light. It changed their lives. Can you imagine what it is like to go without sunshine for half a year? As we start into the winter season, one day of sunshine is a welcome relief from the dreary cloudy, cold, and snowy days. In the mountainous interior of a Norwegian lies a remote village of Rjukan, west of Oslo. Rjukan is situated at the bottom of a narrow river valley, hedged by steep moun

From 18th-century poet and hymn-writer William Cowper: A life all turbulence and noise may seem To him that leads it wise and to be praised. But wisdom is a pearl with most success Sought in still waters. –Cited by Sandra Felton in Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home (Revell, 2004), Kindle Highlight loc. 799-800. Well, the "turbulence and noise" of the holiday shopping is already hitting the airwaves, social media, mailed flyers, and emailed ads. I don't know about you, but the older I get the louder and more obnoxious those holiday gifts ads seem to be. And, it is starting even earlier and earlier each year that by the time we get to Christmas, we are exhaus

Around my family, there is an accepted understanding about when someone "needs to know" about information that is only privy to a few. I always tease my wife and older daughter that it is wise they not know of some pertinent information until the very last moment because they have been guilty of sharing that information to others not on our "need-to-know" list at that moment. Of course, at some point, all of us can become over-excited and want to share news, especially if it is good news. However, timing is everything, and sometimes we need that to be now! Case in point... Brenda and I have always looked forward to the time when we would be grandparents. When it came time when our oldest dau

On the 11th hour... of the 11th day... of the 11th month of 1918... hostilities ceased. World War I had been raging four long years, leaving 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. Germany, Russia, France and Great Britain each lost around a million soldiers. The United States suffered 116,000 losses, about twice the number killed in Vietnam. By the end of the war, Germany was running out of soldiers and supplies, and the country was facing an imminent invasion. On November 11, 1918, German leaders met with Allied leaders in a railroad car in France, and there they signed an armistice agreement — a temporary suspension of hostilities. World War I was over, and no more blood would be

As some of you may know, I am a movie junkie. I will go to about any genre of movie — comedy, drama, science-fiction, historical, action. There is one genre, however, that I refrain from — horror movies. Those things scare me out of my seat. Regardless of the type of movie you or I want to see, it is for sure that our movies have some great lines in them that permeate our culture. If you were at the BooFest this past week you would have heard me saying some of those great lines when I saw several people in costumes that reminded me of a movie I have seen — "Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore"..."I'm Batman"..."I am Groot." Jean Picker Firstenberg, who at the time was the President