The longer I am blessed to journey alongside Christian brothers and sisters the more I realize that Christian community is a powerful glue that holds us steady on our course through this earth to reach our destiny in heaven.

I teach several courses in Photography in the Department of Art, Architecture & Design. Artists like to do things the old-fashioned way. I think it has to do with working with our hands as well as our heads, but it also connects us with the senses of touch and, at times, our olfactory sense.

"A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecc 4:12b)

When a married couple drifts away from God, they also drift away from each other.

If you want to strengthen a marriage, first strengthen your relationship to God.

Words. Words are powerful. Words give direction. Words move us, shape us. There are times when words break our hearts, fill us with fear, torment us. Sometimes, when they come from one we might respect, we are shamed by their words, hurt by them. They cause our eyes to go blind with tears.

I’m an early riser, so sometimes I see things other people miss. For example, last fall I was astonished when from my porch, I saw a young man riding a bike down a deserted Charles Street at dawn – with a twin mattress on his handlebars. A man on a mission. There was definitely a story there. It pays to keep your eyes open; sometimes you see things that will amaze you.

Back in the 1970s, Chester was our class clown. Nature had given him a natural ability to break everyone up whenever he wanted. One very hot July day, my cousin Darrell and I were supposed to go down below West Point and help Darrell’s dad haul some hay. We needed one more person to help and we got Chester to come along.

When Jesus walked on the earth he was flesh and blood. One could visit with Him, shake His hand, even hug Him. As we partake in the communion meal we are told, ”Do This in Remembrance of Me”, as the message carved in the front of communion tables remind us.

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life." —John Lennon

Meaning? Purpose? Many of us may have struggled with defining our purpose. Let me share a personal story about my search for purpose.

Grandpa Smith lived out from Harrisburg, Arkansas on Possum Hollow Road. He was born in 1888 and like many, many men of that era, did not have much formal education. However, there was no doubting his intelligence as his wit was very quick and sharp as a razor.

Have you ever used a rock tumbler? You put rocks in a barrel along with different grades of sand, from coarse to fine. The coarse sand chips away the corners of the rocks to make them into a common shape, whereas the fine sand polishes the rocks with a shiny surface.

Have you ever lost someone dear to you and it feels like there is a hole inside your heart? The disciples probably had an overwhelming feeling of grief after Jesus died and they buried his body. The Gospel of Mark describes a gruesome and hopeless scene of the disciples seeing the place where they laid the body of their innocent Messiah (15:47).

Sue sits on the last pew – right on the aisle. She wandered into our midst from some run-down rental property, looking as if she were in need – of some basic hygiene instruction, perhaps of some medical care, perhaps even a case worker.

The little town in which I grew up, Kensett, had about nine hundred people when I was born. Today, Kensett and the much larger town of Searcy share a common border. However, their respective city limits used to lie two or three miles apart.

Growing up in a small town in Central Illinois we were blessed to enjoy the presence of a Carnegie Library. At one time the town of DeLand was the smallest community in the country that was awarded such a prize.

Our family likes to watch a show that is on the History Channel, "Forged in Fire." It is a competition between four blacksmiths to make knives out of various metals. Sometimes the metals are dirty or not pure.

Just breathe! Did you pause? Sigh? Take a deep breath? Often, we have to make a conscious choice to rest and reflect. Let’s take a few moments to reflect on preserving God moments.

Love. It’s a word, right? It’s an interesting word, and we seem to use it all the time, but what is it?

Indulge me as I tell a story. There once was a man, and he loved cars. He particularly loved roadsters. They were his passion. But there wasn't anyone else around who had the passion for roadsters that this man had.

Friday is Groundhog's Day. If it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow, then the spring will arrive early. If it's sunny, the groundhog will see its shadow and retreat back into its den, and winter will continue for six more weeks. The groundhog mistakes its own shadow for something real. What is reality?