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I was actually surprised that they were still married. How many stars of the 70s still are. But not for long. The Captain and Tennille musical duo and marriage partners are splitting. Their signature song and first smash hit, Love Will Keep Us Together, was one that almost everyone will recognize, even those of you who only know about the 70s from the TV show. Evidently, while still married and singing together here and there, they haven’t really been together for quite some

Last fall, there was an incredible story in the news about a dog that found his deceased master’s grave in a distant cemetery, and stood guard over it for six years. Shortly after Miguel Guzman passed away, his German Shepherd, Capitan, ran away from home. The family looked everywhere to no avail. They assumed he had been hit by a car. Then the following Sunday, when the family visited their father’s grave, Capitan came running to meet them in the cemetery, barking and waggin

Did you hear about the near miss last week? If you were watching the news, you knew it was coming, but we also knew it was going miss us by about 1,700 miles. That may seem like a long ways away, but not when it comes to meteors the size of a Wal-Mart, hurtling towards us at forty times the speed of sound. An impact from something like that would destroy a city, and could possibly cause global weather catastrophe. So obviously, even though it was going to miss us, scientists

The power of words is an amazing thing. Particularly the words that come from those who matter to us. I was 17 the first time I preached. The youth group I was attending had a special night for young guys who thought they might go into the ministry to preach to the youth group. There were three or four of us scheduled to speak that night and we were given 10 minutes a piece. I still remember the message that I gave (I think I even have my original notes), and I hate to admit

A couple of weeks ago, while examining the third commandment, I talked about the common practice of Christians attaching God’s name to their actions and choices, thereby claiming a kind of “divine endorsement” on their decisions. How often do we hear Christians say something like, “The Lord led me to __________.” And I sited a few examples where others claimed to be led by the Lord when clearly, God would not have have led anyone to contradict Scripture. There are also times

In May 1995, Randy Reid, a 34-year-old construction worker, was welding on top of a nearly completed water tower in our area. According to writer Melissa Ramsdell, Reid unhooked his safety gear to reach for some pipes when a metal cage slipped and bumped the scaffolding he stood on. The scaffolding tipped, and Reid lost his balance. He fell 110 feet, landing face down on a pile of dirt, just missing rocks and construction debris. A fellow worker called 911. When paramedics ar

Two sisters, a year apart in middle school, returned from winter break after a week at Disney World with their family. One was down in the dumps and when asked what was wrong, she retorted, “I just came back from a week off school in Florida to this freezing cold weather and homework––that’s what’s wrong.” The other sister was all smiles and at the top of the world. She was asked why she was so happy. “I just came back from a week with my family in Florida, where it was warm

We have vine trouble at our house. The previous owners planted some kind of flowering vine along the fence, and it is pretty during its blooming season. But I hate it. It sends out creepers everywhere and gets itself into everything. We’ve been working the last couple of years to keep it at bay, but it seems like where we pull one section out, a creeper moves over from a nearby area and a week later fills in what we cleared out. It chokes off many of our other plants and even

There’s nothing like a bout with the flu to help you appreciate good health. Brock, Linda and I went to Texas for the weekend, to visit my uncle and cousins. It was a great break from the weather here to enjoy sunny, 75 degree days, hiking and riding trails in east Texas. But one of my cousins came down with something while we were staying at her house. She had a high fever, body aches, chills, stuffed head…..you know what I’m talking about. We soon left her house for her sak

I just learned that another friend of mine is dying. Without previous warning, he began to experience what he thought were mild symptoms that gave him concerns and went for a check-up. Stage four liver cancer. A follow-up CAT scan revealed tumors in both his liver and his lungs. He still is unsure what he will do, but the prognosis offers no hope. Death is all around us. Every time I visit someone in the hospital I am reminded that in that very building, someone is in process

Do you mind if I brag on my Packers just a little bit? Not so much the fact that they just won their fourth Super Bowl and thirteenth world championship….(I believe the Bears have won one Super Bowl and nine championships :-). But I’m more proud of the team for some of the off-the-field conversations they have had and the character they have displayed. For example, Aaron Rodgers: I know some have been saying that they are tired of sportscasters making such a big deal over his

So what did you do on Wednesday? Hailing from Wisconsin, I have seen a fair number of blizzards. The storm of ’67 that so many talk about in Chicago hit us even worse. I was six and still remember being afraid that my dad wouldn’t be able to make it home. In college, my sister and I were once stranded in a tiny town when roads were closed and we were forced to spend the night at the county jail (with about 50 other stranded motorists). About five years ago we were on a highwa

Have you seen the latest video depicting youth violence in the Seattle bus tunnel? I have been alarmed of late by the growing number of security tapes from school busses, outside businesses in urban areas, and now in a metro bus terminal; videos that depict kids nearly killing other kids (and in the case of Chicago teen, actually doing so). Watching a group of girls pummeling, kicking, and even stomping on the head of another girl should be enough for any of us to become alar

“Hey little squirrel!” He looked up at me with his beady little eyes, his mouth dropped open, and he turned and scampered off in the opposite direction….across the church lobby! Let me explain ☺. We have a beautiful lobby in our church with some very comfortable furniture and big open windows. Some days it is quiet out there and I like to use it to study, pray, and even for some of my meetings. While sitting here on the leather sofa in front of the floor to ceiling south wind