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Nationally known relationship experts host local events to build stronger relationships and marriages Couples are invited to gather for a fun event filled with humor, fresh insight, and new strategies for lifelong love. The Becoming Soul Mates seminar is for everyone—newlyweds, “oldyweds,” … [Read more...]
“Hey Don, I don’t think I can come. My car won’t start.” My friend Isadore’s voice was strained with frustration. After phone calls to the dealership, and various failed attempts to dislodge the seized ignition tumbler, he was giving up. The fact that he had also just lost his full-time … [Read more...]
17-year-old Justin Bieber recently got a tattoo of Jesus on his calf. He is known around the world for having a golden voice as well as for being vocal about his faith. He told the Associated Press in 2010, "I'm a Christian, I believe in God, I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins... I … [Read more...]
Why Claiborne thinks we need revert back to a culture of giving: Mark 1:14-20 E.V. Hill, that old African-American evangelist-preacher told a story about a little old lady who sat at the front row of his church. When he’d get up and preach about all of the things that were wrong in the world, … [Read more...]
There is perhaps nothing I like less over Christmas than hearing "Happy Christmas" by John Lennon. I dislike this because it is about a world where war is inconceivable because love is inconceivable. This having been said, it is not as if Lennon is speaking outside longstanding Christian tradition. … [Read more...]
As an Anglo-Saxonist, I am keenly aware of the way that the transfer of gifts reflects the norms that underlie a society. And so I got thinking about what the way we do gift-giving might tell us about ourselves. In particular, gift-giving is oriented toward the receiver rather than both parties. In … [Read more...]
There is a part of us that avoids exile; there is another part of us that is attracted to it. We are attracted to it because it has a way of shattering our illusions. As Jesus puts it in yesterday's Advent reading, people did not go out to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist on account of his … [Read more...]
Today is Gaudete Sunday, the day set aside for emphasizing the more joyful aspects of apocalypse and Christ’s return. The name comes from the Latin opening of one of the readings for the day, “Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice.” It is the reason we light a pink candle … [Read more...]
For me, there are two classic films that epitomize the Christmas season: It’s a Wonderful Life, and the Alistair Sim version of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. You should go out and watch them both. But for the moment, I would like to compare them and suggest that the Christmas Carol is more Christian … [Read more...]
One of the most popular of Christmas traditions is critiquing its commercialism. Yet I worry that many of us in our hipster self-righteousness throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. I read an article suggesting that the problem with advertising is not the human desires it appeals to, … [Read more...]