Category: Faith
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Ethical Ways of Viewing Porn?
Is it possible to sugarcoat evil? To normalize the reprehensible? To rationalize doing immoral things? Apparently, in today’s culture, the answer is “yes.” Axis is a Christian-based media organization aimed at helping parents navigate the cultural changes that impact teens. They have a periodic email called “Culture Translation” that sums up current cultural trends. It’s…
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The Sacrifice of Freedom for Order
What do a 1980s evangelist, an Imperial Officer of the Galactic Empire, and the current Bishop of Los Angeles have in common? I connected those dots recently when three of my grandsons spent a weekend with us. As we continued watching the Star Wars spinoff series called The Mandalorian, the “aha” moment occurred during a…
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Dollars and Sense — Part 4
After Part 1 of this series on Dollars and Sense, a friend reminded me how in the late 1970s my late wife and I helped him and his wife use the envelope system to set up their budget and account for every penny they spent. They credit that advice to helping them get out and…
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Dollars and Sense — Part 3
As noted in my opening post, financial freedom, or at least its foundation, is located at the corner of Word and Wise. The last post surveyed the biblical view of money, the Word. This post shares lessons from the Wise, that is, financial wisdom garnered from those whose life experience validate their credibility. Besides, learning…
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Dollars and Sense – Part 2
As a husband and father, I sought to have an attitude of “Always a Student.” Lifelong learning wasn’t just a hobby; it was a vocation, a necessary tool to survive the ups and downs of life. I explained that mindset in more detail in my blog post Constantly Improve Your Position, dated August 16, 2018.…
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Dollars and Sense — Part 1
What’s the best financial advice you ever got? We live in a time when financial freedom is a dream rather than a reality for most Americans. Debt has become a way of life, a reluctant but inevitable cost of fulfilling wants and desires. We have fallen under the beguiling spell that we can borrow our…
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We Saved A Hummingbird Today
We saved a hummingbird today. By we, I mean my grandson Luke and I. Walking into the garage this morning, Luke spotted the ailing bird standing frozen upon the garage floor. Sadly, it’s a sight we have seen before. Hummingbirds, for some reason, are attracted to our garage, and once inside, they cannot find…
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The Scent of a Flower We Have Yet to Find
I have learned so much since I knew it all. My retirement years have taught me how little I really know about life. So many times in years gone by, I was tempted to follow the world’s path to success and happiness, rather than a more righteous walk in significance and contentment. There were moments…
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Making the Most of Every Opportunity
Today I took a step back to readjust my perspective, refocus my priorities, and recalibrate my values. We live in an age of distractions as multiple media outlets flood the digital ethos for our attention. Facebook rants politicize seemingly every issue. The meaning of words continue to be distorted, and sexual identities are growing so…
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Theology Lessons from a Three-Year-Old
If meat and potatoes are comfort food, then spending time with my grandchildren is soul food — in more ways than one. You finally understand why the word “grandchildren” includes the letters g-r-a-n-d. Watching them sleep redefines the word precious. And listening to their observations of the universe makes you want to fall on your…