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Winter Rain
It’s December in St. Louis, Missouri. Winter has arrived. With the winter comes days of winter rain. In years past, my wife and I actually enjoyed days like today (when we did not have to get outside). I’d light a fire. We’d make some tea or coffee, and just be together. Many people find days…
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Part 3: What Now, God?
One morning, as I was getting ready to visit Jasmine, one of her doctors called and said, “Mr. Isara, the results of the MRI revealed that Jasmine has had several strokes resulting in damage to both sides of her brain.” After a brief discussion to clarify what that meant, the doctor said, “She will never…
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Part 1: Like The Road To Hana
Driving the Road to Hana on the northeast coastline of Maui, Hawaii, can be treacherous. There are 617 hairpin turns and fifty-nine one-lane bridges. Carefully navigating this narrow winding road for sixty-four miles creates constant tension for the driver. It is hard to enjoy the tropical scenery while being transfixed on survival. The Road to…
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Page Garden
My late wife, Jan, had two favorite places on earth. At the top of that list was Christ Church, the Oxford University college where she studied for her Ph.D. in theology. Second on that list was the Church of St. Michael and St. George in suburban St. Louis, where we first entered the Episcopal Church. …
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God, Football, Sex and Gold-diggers
by Fred Colby Admit it! How often have even the most devout of us chosen to attend a football game (or other favorite sport or activity) instead of church? Or instead of spending time with your family? Or instead of honoring a previous commitment to a friend? If you are a churchgoer, you might be…
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Familiar Places
Familiar Places I know this happens to you. As you travel around your town, you pass by many places that were once either special or routine to you and your late wife. If you’re like me, sometimes you pass by them absentmindedly. Other times it brings tears to your eyes. For me, the places are…
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“I’ll be Looking for You”
Shortly before my wife Darlene died in October 2010, we were talking after our final visit with her oncologist. This is how I described it later. On our drive home, we had one of the more significant conversations of our lives. We probably talked about small matters and medical decisions part of the way home,…
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The World after You and Me
Question to Consider: What will the world be like after I’m gone? A History Channel program would showdetails of the likely events on earth if humans were to disappear suddenly. The program starts with the lives of the surviving animals and plants. It moves on to the breakdown of power plants and water supplies and…
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A Celibate Life
“To the unmarried and the widows, I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am.” 1 Corinthians 7:8 The Apostle Paul had strong reasons for being single. Now that you are single again, you may be asking yourself whether the single life is best for you for the rest…
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Love and Companionship
By Nyle Kardatzke, PhD “God is love.” 1 John 4:16 “All things were made through him.” John 1-3 “In Him, all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17 “Two are better than one.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 Love is one of the most powerful words in the English vocabulary or any other language. The first three scriptures above tell…