From time to time I’ve watched a few of the PBS episodes called “Storage Wars.” These are about abandoned rental storage units all over the U.S.A. opened up for on-site auction sales of the contents. Whether the unit contains junk or ‘jewels,’ it may represent our desire to acquire more and more. Along with that … Continue reading How Much Stuff Is Enough?

Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish author of novels, plays, and poems. In 1808 he wrote the poem “Marmion: A tale of Flodden Field.” In it he cleverly and skillfully pointed out the risk of telling falsehoods  with the couplet: “Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive.” Just as with … Continue reading The Tangled Web We Weave

We see it all around us: cars stolen, vehicles broken into; valuables stripped from a home or shop through break-in and entry; packages snatched from a front porch; retail merchandise slipped out of a store; someone’s identity information used in a fraudulent manner; take-overs of personal, corporate, and governmental online systems through hacking. The list … Continue reading I’ll Just Help Myself, Thank You!

Little girls pluck the petals from a flower and dream their way to the colorful last one. “He loves me. He loves me not,” they repeat. Middle school boys exhibit awkwardness when that certain someone is close by. Youths and adults seek companionship and intimacy. Everyone wants a love that will last a lifetime. The … Continue reading Faithfulness Within a Sacred Union

Genesis, the first book of Moses in the Holy Bible, tells us that God created the first man Adam from the dust of the earth and the first woman Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. We are also told that these first persons in the world were created in the image of the God who … Continue reading Disregard for the Image of God

Whether your mother and father are your biological parents or others who raised you, they are the reason you have life. Of course we know some did a better job at loving, protecting, and nurturing than others. It hasn’t been very long since my youngest adult child said to me, “Mom, thanks for giving me … Continue reading Those Who Gave Us Life

Although the term R&R has varying interpretations in different situations, a basic meaning is rest and recreation. Now, we all know what “rest” means.  But wait a minute: how did you pronounce “recreation” in your head as you were reading? Did you say [RECK ree A shun]?  Or did you say [REE kree A shun]? … Continue reading Making Time for R&R

What a person is named or called is a sensitive issue for many. What Mom or Dad thought was a unique and lovely name for their newborn may later cause that child to be ridiculed. A guy who is a “Jr.” may feel he can never be the achiever his Dad was. Some love nicknames. … Continue reading What’s In a Name ?

Today’s snippet blog post presents what I call the Second Lighthouse Lamp of a list of ten spiritual directives which anyone can use to give meaning and direction to life. The first was acknowledging and worshiping One God. The second, which we are looking at today,  instructs us not to create and then worship the … Continue reading Creating Our Own Gods

The directives which are the basis of the Judeo-Christian tradition of reverence and worship of God, and also believers’ conduct, are found in the early writings of the Holy Bible. However, even those raised in this tradition sometimes are conflicted between wanting to do what they have been taught is ‘right’ and feeling constricted by … Continue reading Ancient Lamps Still Operational in a Modern World