“Washington Crossing the Delaware” Growing up in Colorado, Memorial Day weekend was a time for barbecuing chicken, enjoying potato salad, and eating homemade peach ice cream. It was also a time to visit the graveside of my grandmother and other distant relatives. As a kid, it was a fun weekend that included great food and lots…
Category: Culture
The Fool
Dennis Prager… who is no fool… When I was a Bible school student at Christ for the Nations in Dallas some years ago, I had an Israeli friend who called herself an “atheist.” We had many long talks about “God,” “Jesus,” and the Bible. I will never forget once riding a ski lift in Winterpark, Colorado,…
Focus
These are the candles for our Sabbath meal last evening. They brightened our table and our eyes through the entire evening. Two candles burning against the night are symbolic of Sabbath rest and Jewish tradition.
I Am Broken
A sea of Ethiopians sit across from the tables. One by one they come to us, the several nurses that assess their medical needs and direct them to appropriate clinics. In between patients, my eyes scan the faces–the people who wait patiently, almost reverently for free medical help. They cannot afford to pay for…
The Privilege of Adoption
My daughter is in the front row with Ethiopian orphans. We leave in a week for a two-week medical trip to Ethiopia. I certainly have mixed feelings about this trip. In fact, every trip has been hard for me this year. I think a decade plus of mega international traveling has caught up with me. Even…
William F. Buckley and the Jews
William F. Buckley Jr. once said, “In my own experience anti-Semitism is not a communicable disease.” John B. Judis in his biography William F. Buckley Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives states that Buckley grew up with attitudes of Jewish hatred in his home. Later in life, Buckley learned that “anti-Semitism is not a communicable disease” through his own…
Compelling Trivia from Washington DC
On June 6, 1977, TIME magazine ran this article, Arthur Burns: Born Again at 73. I think this bit of trivia about Arthur Burns should be interesting to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and politicians alike. Arthur Burns, a Jewish economist of great influence in Washington during the tenure of several Presidents, was once asked to pray at a gathering…
The Power of Photography
David Graham has written a fascinating essay titled, “Why Emily Dickinson Would Not Smile for the Camera.” Dickinson felt the camera lied. Those familiar with the poet’s unconvential opinions and sometimes odd behavior know that she had a strong conviction against being photographed, therefore there are only a couple pictures of her in existence. But wait, this essay explores much more than Dickinson’s…
Mr. Sick
Before I lived abroad, before I had a daughter, before I was a pastor’s wife, before I was married, before I lived on a kibbutz in Israel, I worked as a nurse–for many years–in Colorado and then Texas. I graduated from Porter Memorial Hospital in Denver, so many years ago I don’t care to remember…
Emmanuel–God With Us!
This morning at church we sang the old familar chorus, “Emmanuel.” The words are simple and uplifting: Emmanuel, Emmanuel. His name is called Emmanuel. God with us, revealed in us. His name is called Emmanuel. The spirit of the song caused my heart to swell with praise and gratitude. In Hebrew “Emmanuel” means “God (is) with…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 