This week our nation looks back to remember and reflect on 9/11.

The first schools in colonial America were in the home, but the next were faith-centered collectives that taught children how to read the Bible. And it was a preacher, Cotton Mather, who was the first to fight a rampant smallpox plague devastating Boston in colonial America. Mather demonstra…

When we listen to the news regarding the economy, international politics and religious trends in America, we could easily conclude that the world is spiraling out of control.

The rapid collapse of the Afghanistan government and its fall to Taliban control has sent chills throughout the world. We are haunted by the desperation written on thousands of Afghan faces huddled at the Kabul airport seeking escape. Our hearts and our prayers go out to them.

Those who read this column regularly are familiar with Buddy, our tri-color corgi. We adopted Buddy in 2009, and across the years, I’ve written numerous columns about all the things Buddy has taught me.

I went to Walmart the other day. Something I do as a part of the middle-class ritual. Sometimes I visit other stores with fewer choices and higher prices just to avoid crowds. But Walmart has most of the things I need, and I can wear my sweatpants and no one notices.

Naomi Osaka made international news when she withdrew from the French Open and opted not to play at Wimbledon because of her struggles with depression.

A couple of hundred years ago, people lived in isolation, farming land on open prairies. Travel and communication were slow and uncertain. Letters took weeks, if not months, to reach their destination. Responses were long-delayed. A visit to town might take an entire weekend.

Opening ceremonies for the world summer Olympics are scheduled for Friday evening in Tokyo, Japan, after a year of delay because of COVID.

Every summer for generations, church camps have been part of an ongoing Texas tradition. In summer and fall, women’s groups from hundreds of churches here also will hold retreats at area camps, as well as a smaller number of men’s fellowships.

History is like an expedition. Each generation helps chart the journey with its twists and turns, and each picks up where the other left off.

Being blessed has nothing to do with prosperity, health, comfort or security. It's all about a relationship with God that blesses us whatever our circumstances happen to be.

In 2 Chronicles God has promised, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

A couple of years ago, I wrote about Fred and Ethel, two robins that built their nest on a low-lying limb in the tree outside our front window. This year, a couple of sparrows showed up, surveyed the scene and selected the birdhouse in our backyard for their home. We were happy to see them move in.

Last month, at 50 years and 11 months, Phil Mickelson became the oldest golfer in history to win a major tournament when he won the PGA Championship by two strokes. He’s now considered an “old man,” at least in the field of sports. But I remember when Mickelson was young, when his wife gave …

There are many reasons why people attend church. There are other reasons why I do as well, but these are the ones that stand out in my mind.

Wherever you find fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who have received God’s grace and love others as God has loved them, you will find disciples in disguise.

Last year, I planted a rose bush in our garden, a knockout rose that produces deep red fragrant blooms. Winter came, the flowers faded and the leaves withered. The bush spent weeks buried beneath a bone-chilling snow in Colorado.