Thursday Thought

Hadas Eilon and her 15-year-old daughter looked forward to a fun weekend at the family kibbutz in southern Israel. The communal farm—a small town of 900–was just three miles east of Gaza. This was the place, the home where Hadas grew up. A red alert sounded on Saturday morning, October 7, so Hadas, her brother, mother, daughter, and niece piled into their concrete-reinforced safe room. That's when texts from their neighbors brought news of the unthinkable. Terrorists had invaded Israel and entered their kibbutz. Designed to withstand rockets, not enemy troops, the safe rooms in these homes had no locks….

We are in the intensive care unit. Attached to eight IV drips is someone we love. A machine helps him breathe. His downward spiral has been fast and furious. But how does a simple fall at home lead to being on life support? In a meeting with the head doctor, she summarizes her medical assessment in plain English: “A lot has gone wrong in a very short span.” Nurses chat just outside our room. Gurneys wheel patients down the hall. Overhead speakers alert doctors to health emergencies. Oddly, if you listen long enough, the sounds of controlled crises act as…

On morning walks after the holidays, I like to smell the different Christmas trees piled out by the curb: Balsam fir, Blue spruce, and Scotch pine. (I'm so crazy about the smell; Diana makes our fake Christmas tree smell like the real deal!). Walking by those curbside trees, I often break off a small sprig and breathe in the fragrance–my feeble attempt at hanging on to Christmas just a bit longer. Interestingly, the pine smells the strongest where the twig is broken off. That arresting aroma is not found in the luxurious green needles. But you cannot escape it at…

I do not like what COVID has done to eating out. Apart from some upscale restaurants serving thirty-dollar steaks with baked potatoes for an additional ten bucks, almost nobody wants you in their space these days. Fast food restaurants no longer wish to be restaurants. They've become food factories: Get in line, pay in line, leave the line. Here’s what I’ve experienced in restaurants after COVID—and maybe you can relate. They don’t want your face. Sure, their doors are open, but their hearts aren't. Fast food places act like you've shoved a tire iron in the spokes of their wheel merely…

As I write this, snow is falling—enough white stuff to make me fire up the snowblower snoozing in my garage. Now, you might be a warm weather worshipper, but to me, a walk in the snow is one of God’s great gifts. Still, as I walk, I'm constantly amazed at how quickly the pure white blanket is stained. Scarcely has the snow landed when a car spews black exhaust on it or a muddy boot stomps its dirt. To say nothing of dogs who pause long enough to…well, you get the idea. Where are we going with this? As followers…

When asked if Jesus “will return to Earth someday," a Pew Research poll finds: 55% of all U.S. adults say this will happen. 86% of historically Black church traditions agree. 92% of evangelicals believe in Jesus' Second coming. The same Pew research poll shows: 25% of Americans do not believe Jesus will return to Earth. 16% say they do not believe in Jesus. I have news for you. Whether or not ANYONE believes it—Jesus is coming back to Earth! David Jeremiah points out that scholars have identified 1,845 unique biblical references to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Old…

Until you have messed up and fully understood the mess you've made, you can't appreciate the wonder of mercy. Last Sunday, our church orchestra accompanied the congregation, singing In the First Light. While the lyrics and melody are powerful, the arrangement—created by our minister of music, Dennis Criser—is profound. Our rehearsal went well, and afterward, I put my French Horn down and jaunted over to Dennis to let him know how much I appreciated the creativity that went into his work. Then came the actual Sunday morning performance. Dennis wrote the French Horn part in an easy key—just one flat….

While babysitting Ava and Emma recently, Emma trotted into the living room bearing two dolls—and an announcement: “This is Anna and Elsa—but they lost their legs.” It was hard not to giggle at how this four-year-old crammed facts and fate into one tragic sentence. However, upon further examination, Emma's assessment proved reliable. The lead characters of Disney's Frozen franchise were decked out in their movie finest—but lacked legs. All of them. The sight of the dolls’ (plastic) smiles, despite their mangled condition, felt odd. At my wife Diana’s encouragement, the girls dug through their dolly collection and found some of…

  At the age of 99, Chuck Christensen is one of the best listeners you could ever meet. After every sentence you utter, he offers an affirming response. When you talk, he makes unfailing eye contact. He nods in empathy, asks clarifying questions, and leans forward—as if to support you. He's the only human being I've ever met whose "Hmm…" feels like a comforting hand on your sagging shoulders. Were your conversation recorded, stop-watched, and displayed as a pie chart, your half of that talk would invariably be larger than his. Always. Like me, you’re probably guilty of “listening” while…

“How did your church’s outreach event go?” I asked my friend Jack. “Went well—once it got started. The guy who rented us the equipment showed up 30 minutes late and took another 20 minutes to set up. So we had fifty people roaming the halls at church waiting for an event that started almost an hour late.” “Not cool.” “Not at all. I felt sick—like instead of hosting our guests, we’d given them a black eye.” “Isn’t that a little harsh, Jack?” “Maybe. But inside, I was seething—and I was blunt with the installation guy. Not over the top, but…