I love new words, although I’m sometimes slow in learning them. I’m sure most of my younger friends have already started using the word “emoticon” but it is somewhat new to me. It is defined as “a pictorial representation of a facial expression that, in the absence of body language serves to draw a receiver’s…
Have you ever communicated something to others only to find you needed it for yourself? Last Monday’s Morning Manna was from Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing” with the emphasis on the “for nothing.” Before the day was over, I needed that advice. I found myself in somewhat of a “Physician, heal yourself” (Luke 4:23)…
Amazing how I have become so dependent to something I’d never heard of a few years ago. Eight years ago I began writing a Monday morning, one paragraph, spiritual jump-start for the week. It was first called, Dr. Dan’s Monday Morning Memo, then we changed the word “Memo” to “Manna” but writing it became a…
Once again, I passed my annual physical exam, but not without one interesting exchange between doctor and patient. “Doctor”, I said, “I used to be able to go full speed ahead for days and even weeks, and while I still come home refreshed, it now takes me several days to get over every ministry experience…
Due to the fact that the Internet provider had issues all day Monday, some received my Monday Morning Manna and some did not. We think everything has been corrected, so I will post it again, with apologies to those who receive it twice. So here is Dr. Dan’s Friday Morning Manna. Dan ++++++++++++ Tis’ the…
Tis’ the season – baseball season, that is – my favorite season of the year. One of the things I love about baseball is the unique jargon that is not heard in any other sport. No other sport has “ducks on the pond” or a “bull pen” or “tools of ignorance.” A few games ago,…
Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my sermon was entitled, “Balanced Growth: A Mother’s Hope” from Luke 2:52, which says, “Jesus increased (or grew) in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Preachers and teachers have most often classified those as four ways of growth: mental, physical, spiritual, and social, so those were…
I attended another funeral last week – this one for my friend Don Miller. The family said his last words were, “almost to glory!” I’ve often wondered what people think when they know for certain that they are dying. I had a book once that, like many, has disappeared from my shelves, but it recorded…
Sometimes you have a choice of laughing or crying. A few years ago, we drove quite a distance to preach on Easter Sunday morning for a pastorless church. Following the service I was thanked and handed an envelope. On the way home, I jokingly, asked my wife to open the envelope and see if we…
Ever hear the term, “worry-free”? I tried without success to research the term to find its origin and meaning. It obviously means to be free from worry, but it also implies that worry is free. I’ve learned the hard way that worry doesn’t change the outcome, and the cost is high – high blood pressure,…