All across the world where Christmas is celebrated, Christian families gather to read “The Christmas Story.”  Without this story, there would be no Easter story. Both stories are love stories.  Most of us can quote John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him… Read More »

It was Christmas Eve when the Nemethy family moved into their brand new home in Dover, Massachusetts.  It was a cold, 24 degrees with the night temperatures going down to 12 degrees.  Five inches of snow was on the ground.  This doesn’t sound like the ideal weather for moving but once you get inside your… Read More »

Roots.  Depending on where you are from geographically, you might pronounce the word with the vowel sounding like it does in the word put.  If you look the word up in Merriam-Webster, either pronunciation is acceptable.  When talking about roots, we could be talking about the part of the plant that goes deep into the… Read More »

There are two fun traditions that play a big role in our Christmas celebrations.  Each made the National Calendar list for December 20th.  The first is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Though the celebration began in 2011, the concept of ugly Christmas sweaters has been around since 1896.  “An 1896 advertisement in The Boston Globe promoted Christmas sweaters “For… Read More »

This past Thursday was a national celebration of a dubious nature.  It was National Re-Gifting Day.  Colorado governor, Bill Ritter, Jr, made National Re-gifting Day official in 2008.1   And I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. Let’s start by defining it.  Re-gifting is simply taking a gift that was given to you and… Read More »

Was it worth it? Have you ever wanted to ask that of someone after they did something reckless and had to pay the consequences?  I would imagine that many wanted to ask Michael Sergio this question on December 19, 1986. It was October 25, 1986, and game six of the World Series was being played… Read More »

Today marks the anniversary of the best Black Friday deal I’ve ever gotten.  I didn’t realize this until just a few weeks ago when my wife and I were talking and doing some marital math.  As the math teachers always said, “You have to show your work.”  So, stick with me while I show you… Read More »

During the 1990s, an old west Marshall had been captured by the villains and they were getting ready to hang him.  With a sneer, one of the outlaws asked, “Any last words, Marshall?”  The Marshall defiantly replies, “Nope.”  Then, the outlaw says, “What do you want on your tombstone?”  Thinking for just a moment, the… Read More »

French naval officer Félix du Temple de la Croix.  Russian naval officer Alexander Fyodorovich Mozhayskiy.  French inventor Clément Ader.  American-turned-English citizen Sir Hiram Maxim.  American Augustus Moore Herring.  German immigrant Gustave Whitehead.  Karl Jatho of Hanover, Germany. Richard Pearse of Waitohi, New Zealand.1 My guess is that none of these names are recognizable.  Yet, each… Read More »

I’m going to start your day with a sweet devotional.  And, as an added bonus, it will be shorter than yesterday.  However, the power isn’t in the length of the devotional but in the message.  This is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day.  It doesn’t get any simpler or better than that. “Some people think that… Read More »