I am currently writing these new devotionals while aboard The Anthem of the Seas, sitting on the balcony of our state room and it is chilly!  Beautiful but chilly.  Of course, my wife says I’m just old.  The wind coming across the water drops the temperatures a bit.  Some of the devotionals over the next… Read More »

In 1977, an organization began in Arcadia, California that became well known in most churches:  Focus On The Family (FOTF).  Founded by Dr. James Dobson, the organization is now led by Jim Daly and based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The purpose of the devotional is not an endorsement or critique of FOTF.  I bring it… Read More »

We are familiar with the fact that we have five senses that help us get through the day:  sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.  That’s old news, dating back to Aristotle’s work “De Anima” (On the Soul) from 350 BC.1  Aristotle was wrong. Not to criticize an early philosopher like Aristotle.  He did his best with… Read More »

Would you like to go on a treasure hunt this weekend?  Imagine finding an ancient map that promised something valuable where an “X” marked the spot.  That sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  Well, if you’re into mysteries and maps, maybe you could start doing some research on these lost treasures.  You’ll have to determine if they… Read More »

While July isn’t usually a month where we think about giving gifts, let’s take a moment and put ourselves in gift-giving mode.  Afterall, we are only 147 days or 4 months and 25 days till Christmas.  And there are some of you who have been preparing for Christmas 2025 ever since Christmas 2024 had ended. … Read More »

Today is a National Day Calendar celebration of something that is going to be very difficult to accomplish in NW Ohio.  This is National Climb A Mountain Day.  Julie Andrews encouraged us to do that when she famously sang, “Climb every mountain!”  We are quite a distance from The Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Adirondacks, Blue… Read More »

Have you ever wondered how people first learned what to eat and what not to eat?  What possessed someone to see a mushroom and think it was worth eating?  Who was the first person to die from eating a common conecap, deathcap or false morel?  Why would someone try a different mushroom after watching someone… Read More »

On yesterday’s date, 1981, every parent’s nightmare became real for John and Revé Walsh.  Their six-year-old son, Adam, was abducted. “Early in the afternoon on July 27, Adam entered a Sears department store with his mother, Reve. She allowed him to watch a group of older boys play video games in the toy department while… Read More »

In 1994, Republican Senator Trent Lott introduced a bill that became Congressional Resolution (36 U.S.C. § 135) and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.  The resolution established this day as National Parents’ Day.  The resolution recognized the “…uplifting, and supporting role of parents in the rearing of children.”1 You wonder, “Why do we… Read More »

When we think of our nation’s forefathers, we tend to esteem them with high regard.  One of those characters is Benjamin Franklin.  In 1774, Franklin got fired from his job as postmaster for Britain because of his political and revolutionary activities.  However, he was back in the postal business again a year later on this… Read More »