If your doctor told you today that you had an enlarged heart, this would not be good news. Cardiomegaly, as it’s officially called, can lead to all sorts of problems, including congestive heart failure. So, when it comes to your physical heart, you do not want it to be any larger than it is already. But that’s not true when it comes to your spiritual heart, your inner being, your soul. Here, enlargement is quite fine, at least according to... Read more
One of my all-time favorite movies is Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a self-centered weatherman who ends up trapped in a time warp. He is stuck in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for Groundhog Day, the same Groundhog Day over and over and over again. After satisfying his hedonistic pleasures, Phil begins to grow into a person committed to helping others. For example, from experience, he knows that at precisely 11:05 a.m., a boy will fall out of a tree... Read more
For several years, it has been my history to put up a bit of Thanksgiving history a few days prior to the holiday. So, once again, here is a brief history of Thanksgiving. Several years ago I asked my six-year-old nephew, “On Thanksgiving, to whom do we say thank you?” He quickly responded, “To the Native Americans.” (No, I’m not kidding.) “Do we say thank you to anybody else?” I queried persistently. “To the Pilgrims.” “And to anybody else?” I... Read more
Psalm 19:1-14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 Growing up, one of my heroes was a Presbyterian pastor named Ben Patterson. He was the speaker at many of the Christian conferences I attended as a teenager, and I was gripped by his theological insight and poetic skill. When I began work as a young pastor, I listened to dozens of Ben’s... Read more
Once in a great while when I see a film in a theater, I find myself not wanting to move when it’s over. Even after the credits stop rolling, I wish I could just sit in silence and remain in the moment. I want to think, to feel, to respond to the art I have just witnessed. My soul has been touched and I want to let this touch have its full effect. Lincoln is such a film. After I... Read more
I have been watching the growing popularity of MOOCs (“massive open online courses”) with considerable interest. To this point, they are offered for free (mostly) and without college credit. But this may change. According to Tamar Lewin, writing for the New York Times, the American Council on Education will consider offering college credit for some MOOCs. In “College Credit for Online Courses,” Lewin writes: On Tuesday, the American Council on Education, the leading umbrella group for higher education, and Coursera,... Read more
A friend of mine was visiting from out of town and expressed some interest in attending one of the Sunday morning services at Oak Hills Church, widely known as the home church of Max Lucado. So, I Googled “oak hills church” on my iPad. What appeared, right before the link to the Oak Hills website, was a short summary supplied by Google. Here is what I saw (minus the red circle): Well, Google got the address right (of the main... Read more
The beloved children’s book, Goodnight Moon, is now an app. For $4.99, you can purchase the app from iTunes for use on an iPad. Now, you, your children, and your grandchildren don’t have to read Goodnight Moon in the old-fashioned way, holding a book, turning the pages, and so forth. Rather, the app will read the book to you in a soothing female voice with equally soothing background piano music (Robert Schumann’s “Von fremden Ländern und Menschen” from Kinderszenen, Opus... Read more
Psalm 17:1-15 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8 I own a pair of protective goggles and use them faithfully. I wear them when I’m cutting branches with my chainsaw or attacking weeds with my weed whacker. My goggles serve a crucial purpose: they protect my eyes. Once, I forgot to wear my goggles while sawing a branch and ended up with a spec of wood in my... Read more
The Mountain School in Vershire, Vermont has been living in a time warp. It lies far enough out in the woods so as to be relatively cut off from digital technology. Cell phones get a weak signal at best. If you want the Internet, you have to settle for dial up. Such literal distance from technology creates an experiential distance that fits the Mountain School perfectly, according to Vivian Yee, writing from the New York Times. In her recent article,... Read more
Mark D. Roberts
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