The blue zone life-style calls for a low stress life. How can we do that when we live in such a high stress world? Some stress comes to all people, such as illness, death of someone close, or accidents. Other times, we add stress. It can be the stress of an overly full schedule, always... Continue Reading →
As Shannon felt the heart-pounding, shaky breathing, and profuse sweating of a panic attack, she kept repeating, "You are not dying!" Her fear of being alone in a foreign country generated the anxiety. She couldn't seem to find the peace to sleep. She turned over in bed and saw the moon shining as it had... Continue Reading →
When we went to Portugal, we saw an amazing Cathedral. We walked up to the first sign and it talked about this ball peen hammer that was used in the building of the church. After ten lines of extolling the qualities of the hammer, at the end, in tiny script, it mentioned the king who... Continue Reading →
Now that we have seen that 1) everyone, no matter what he knows, is guilty, and that 2) the justification purchased by Jesus’ death is available to everyone, not just Jews, we are ready for the next great mountaintop. Paul gives us four ways that Jesus life affects us, now that His death cleared the... Continue Reading →
When my first wife and I lived in Africa, we started out worrying a lot about tropical diseases, especially malaria. Malaria is a tiny parasite that mosquitoes carry. You can sleep under mosquito nets, wear mosquito repellent, especially at night, avoid being out and wear long sleeves if you do, and finally take medicine to... Continue Reading →
No matter where I am, I look for the forest, especially in the Spring when trees that have hibernated during the winter, return rejuvenated with new leaves and new life. It is a lesson for us as human beings that we must find time to rest and be rejuvenated, if we are to be ready... Continue Reading →
In the study of Romans, I encountered the word exalt. Now I have sung songs that say "Exalt the Lord" and know that it had something to do with praising God. It felt wrong to not really know, so I looked it up. It means leaps a lot. I was once at a Christian High... Continue Reading →
We have moved to the beautiful city of Quarteira in Portugal, with its wonderful beaches and colorful houses and apartment buildings. We met our host's parents, and it was one of the highlights of this visit. His mother could not speak any English, but she managed to show me all that I needed to know... Continue Reading →
Traveling is a great adventure, but like all adventures, the stress levels increase. Some people forget that not only do bad things increase stress, but so do good things. If enough good things occur, then some small bad thing, that you normally sail right through, can leave you foundering. Enough stress can go beyond the... Continue Reading →
My parents had a strange way of raising us kids. Where most parents keep kids under tight leashes, mine gave us unusual freedoms. When the adults were chanting the mantra, “keep it clean”, mine chanted, “pick it up off the floor and eat it to build your street immunities.” At an age when most caregivers... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 