Almost simultaneous with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, The Story of Ferdinand was published. Written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson, this timeless children’s tale is set somewhere outside Madrid. In a nutshell, Ferdinand…

Happy New Year! Eileen and I are enjoying our time in Atlanta at Passion 2019 with some of the college-age gang from First Baptist Paducah. We’re in the arena right now, so I’ll write for just a few minutes. Last…

Perhaps, while the kids or grandkids have a few days off from school, you’ll indulge in a bit of butter popcorn and Mary Poppins Returns. The film opened in theaters nationwide December 19. Mary Poppins is exceptionally well done, and…

I spent the last couple of days in Houston, visiting my father. Houston is the city of my birth. It was a quick trip, but important to me as Christmas quickly approaches. Yesterday my dad and I had the opportunity…

This Christmas season my heart goes out to those who are struggling. Pain and suffering at this time of year can be exceedingly real. The shorter and grayer days, and longer and colder nights, can’t help. The idea that everyone…

Colonel Sanders and J. Edgar Hoover were friends. Helen Keller and Mark Twain were friends. Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert are friends. At least off the tennis court. Friendship is a really cool thing. Our world needs more of it.…

You may have noticed my use of that tag line in a few recent correspondences. I love the fact that First Baptist Paducah’s campus is located near the center of life in Paducah. That tag line is a way to…

Near Massachusetts Bay, many of the Pilgrims huddled aboard the Mayflower as the days and nights grew colder. Many didn’t make it through that first winter. For those who remained, hope came from a very unlikely source: a Patuxet (Pawtuxet)…

Rabshakeh. I’m reading through Isaiah in my personal devotions, and “Rabshakeh” jumped off the page as I hit Chapter 36. The time is 701 B.C., and the Northern Kingdom has fallen to Assyria. Now Judah, the Southern Kingdom, is imperiled…

In May 2017, the army detained three Christian believers who were gathering firewood, and forcibly took them into custody. Their bodies were found later; they had been tortured and killed. The gruesome scene I’m describing happened in the Kachin State…