If you look at new U.S. currency, bills twenty and up, you’ll notice some built-in anti-counterfeiting measures. They have security strips, reflective multi-colored ink, small holograms, and new layouts, all designed to thwart counterfeiting. People who deal with currency every day, like bankers and cashiers, can often spot a counterfeit just by how it looks … Continue reading How to Spot a Counterfeit Step One: Inspect Carefully
If you have ever witnessed an accident, or been in a court case to hear the testimony about an accident, you know that the witnesses to that one accident can have very different accounts. Some of that is influenced by where they were when it happened. Were they in one of the cars? Were they … Continue reading Better Than Fake News
Years ago, when I taught at a Christian school for special needs students, I told my oldest daughter that I was going to be teaching history. She heard that and said: “History is boring,” with an emphasis on “boring.” I told her, “Not when I teach it!” Not to toot my own horn, but my … Continue reading Remembering Your ABC’s
The other day I had to rebuild our front porch. Although the house we bought up here is solidly built, the porch that was original to the house was showing its age. The wood was never treated and the supports were put directly into the ground with no footers. Water damage had eaten away at … Continue reading The Bible is Not a Coffee Table Book
I discovered my need for glasses in college. Friends would say “hi” to me and I would just squint at them, trying to figure out who they were and if they were talking to me. They’d often tease me for being aloof, but I wasn’t trying to be. I was just trying to identify them. … Continue reading Spiritual Myopia
Driving a car does not make you a mechanic any more than breathing makes you a pulmonologist. Experience as a mechanic makes you a mechanic. When we lived in Greenville, we had a great mechanic. I’ll call him “Joe.” Joe knew cars like nobody else. I could describe to him an issue I was having … Continue reading Driving a Car Does Not Make You a Mechanic
Yesterday, we started talking about Scripture’s “Magnificent Seven” and covered virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control), and patience (endurance). We’ll finish that up with the last three of the Mag Seven: godliness, brotherly kindness and charity (love). “Godliness” means “God-likeness.” God created mankind to be an image bearer of Himself. “And God said, ‘Let us make man … Continue reading The Mag Seven (Part 2)
When you plant a seed, you expect it to do something – mainly grow. But you want more than just growth, you want it to look like what’s on the seed packet. Usually, what’s on the seed packet is a prime example of what the seed is meant to become. That takes work. Both the … Continue reading Life Means Growth. Growth Means Everything.
What binds all Christians together is their common faith in Christ. When I served at our faith-based recovery program it was that bond that most amazed me. We had people with all kinds of different life stories, all kinds of different experiences and abilities, all different races. What brought us all together despite these obvious … Continue reading Our Common Bond
I am no woodworking pro. People who know me know that I make Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor look like Bob Villa. One thing I do know, however, is that the best way to make sure something is square is to use a carpenter’s square to check your work. Our eyes can deceive us. We … Continue reading Squaring Things Up
Grace in Waves 