Articles

THUD. It was the sound of our tackle football game.

THE SENSE OF WONDER I FELT watching my eight-year-old cousin at the beach stays with me. Collecting shells, she skipped in and out of the chilly water.

Lately, I've heard, the old expression "Keeping up with the Joneses" has been replaced by "Keeping up with the Gateses. " Apparently, it's no longer enough to want to match your neighbor's lifestyle.

Let's, for a short while, break out of the familiar everyday picture of what we're doing in a particular building or street or neighborhood. On a country lane or a city block in some fine building given to us by our forebears.

It began casually, just a mild curiosity, subtle yet persistent. I would visit pornography sites on the Internet every several months.

Centuries ago, in what has since been regarded as the most widely quoted speech ever given, Jesus of Nazareth encouraged his listeners to take no thought for the body. See Matt.

In the months leading up to the hike, this arresting inquiry—how many gods are there?—had caused me to stop and make sure my actions and thoughts worshiped one God. I HAD BEEN ASKED TO TEACH nature journaling for two weeks at an art, music, and writing retreat for adults in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

REMEMBER THAT OLD EXPRESSION, "I never promised you a rose garden"? I can't help but think of it when I read about followers of Jesus who weren't interested in the challenges that being a Christian sometimes bring. They may have followed him with a bed of roses in mind, but not for long.

SHE WAS BRIGID TO CELTIC EUROPE, Cybele to the Romans, and Rhea to the ancient Greeks. She was the pagan mother goddess—celebrated by pre-Christian civilizations in Europe long before Mother's Day, as we know it, gained official recognition in the United States in 1914.

Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color. — MARY BAKER EDDY HERE'S A QUESTION: How many prongs are there at the end of your toaster cord? It's a loaded question, not because the answer—two—is anything out of the ordinary (at least not in the United States).