On this day, Feb. 2, in 1831, a 23-year-old seminarian named Samuel Francis Smith first heard the tune used for the British national anthem. Delighted with the music, he was moved to write new lyrics to the same melody. “My Country Tis of Thee” was first performed on July 4 that year, and went [...]
Don’t you agree? Music is magic for the soul. It can root you in the here and now, and it can catapult you over the canyons of time to special moments in your past. Music is a medicine that can bind our wounds. Earlier this week I received and shared a FB post that [...]
I was 10 years old, and I still remember watching his speech on our B&W television set. On this day, Jan. 20, 1961, the youngest man ever elected president delivered his Inaugural Address. JFK stirred the hearts of young and old alike that day with words of patriotism, self-sacrifice, and a warning to America’s [...]
History buffs. Movie lovers. Go see Darkest Hour, one of the great movies of 2017. A tour de force by Gary Oldman as Sir Winston Churchill. The history of it all enchanted me, swept me away to a time not so long before my own birth. Two hours of wonderful cinema about Churchill’s courageous [...]
I recently had a brief, but difficult texting conversation with one of my oldest friends. Several years ago he left his wife and family for a new life. New women…new surroundings. And for those friends who didn’t support his selfish decisions…well, suffice to say, they’re history, too. Sound familiar? It’s going around. Anyway, he [...]
In the aftermath of evil being unleashed upon our fellow citizens yesterday, I find it sobering that today we are reminded to give thanks to our Sovereign God who has already vanquished evil. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, perhaps our nation’s most revered Presidents, had similar thoughts about why Americans should remember to give [...]
We were all created with an imaginative mind…right? Watch a toddler discover over time the world that exists at his or her fingertips. The child’s brain soaks up the new information like a sponge; the imagination stretches like a rubber band. Consider the pace of new product development that takes existing technology and expands [...]
On this day, Sept. 7, 1864, a deputation of blacks from Baltimore visited President Abraham Lincoln. They presented our 16th President with a special gift: a Bible. In thanking them, here is what he said: “In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given [...]
On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is officially ratified, giving women the right to vote. On Aug. 18, 1970, a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality, led by Betty Friedan on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment calls attention to unequal pay and other gender inequalities in [...]
I recently read a blog from a self-help enthusiast who proclaimed, “No one is coming to the rescue.” Hmm… As one who loves to read and write about sozo (a Greek word: to rescue from danger or destruction), I took immediate issue. Rescue is at the heart of every good story. Once more, I [...]
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