Category: 2010 Column

December 29, 2010 One of my favorite Christmas stories took place in the ’60s and was written about in the “Baptist Herald.” Here’s an edited version of Dina Donahue’s “Trouble at the Inn.” For many years now, whenever Christmas pageants are talked about in a certain Midwest town, someone mentions the name of Wallace Purling. … Continue reading Trouble at the inn

December 20, 2010 During this time of the year, when my favorite foods are so plentiful, I can go on a sweet-eating binge as fast as you can say “homemade fudge.” Which brings up the question I ask my wife every year: “Why do we need to make fudge?” “It is a Christmas tradition,” she … Continue reading At Christmastime, send your will to the gym

December 14, 2010 It happened a long time ago on the wild frontier. There was no place to hide, no place to run, no sheriff in town who could stop the bloodshed. That’s why the younger brother couldn’t think straight, much less sleep. His older brother was coming to kill him. In a dead panic, … Continue reading When it is time to face God

December 6, 2010 There is little that compares with the joy of anticipation. It is almost as much fun as when that thing you are hoping for finally arrives. Remember when you were little and Christmas was three weeks away, like it is now? All of us probably have a story to tell about things … Continue reading Great joy can be found in anticipation

November 29, 2010 Dick and I were standing in the airport in Nairobi, waiting to get our boarding pass for the flight home, he to Nashville, me to Burlington. Dick is a well-respected businessman, at the top of his field in health care management, and just an all-around nice guy. We had been in Kenya … Continue reading How much do you hate sin?

November 22, 2010 What does a young lady do that wants to be married but hasn’t been asked? World Magazine reported on one option: “Growing old in a culture that promotes families and denigrates old maids, a 30-year-old Taiwanese office worker has decided to marry the only person she knows will have her: herself. Chen … Continue reading Where have all the men gone?