What’s the biggest gift you ever asked for? Think back to letters to Santa or your wedding registry. Sometimes the request betrays an ugly selfishness. Like when a boy told Santa, saying he’d be more than willing to trade his sister for a north pole elf just as soon as the stork dropped her off.[1]S
It was just past midnight in Bavaria, Germany. Lisa’s doorbell rang. She assumed it was just someone playing ding-dong-ditch. But then her sister-in-law, who lived in the apartment above, called. Her doorbell had been ringing over and over. While they were on the phone, Lisa’s bell rang again.Here’s
Some groups are hard to get into. 80% of Navy SEAL candidates fail out of BUD/S. NASA rejected 99.9% of applicants for their 2021 astronaut class. They selected only 10 out of 12,000.[1]Maybe you’ve heard of Skull and Bones. It’s the oldest of several secret societies at Yale. They admit just 15 mem
In the mid 1800’s, New York was rocked by a terrible and deadly scandal. Clean drinking water was scarce, so demand for milk skyrocketed. Local distilleries realized they could cash in on this market. So, they brought in cows to milk. And then they had a great business idea: Why not feed the cows wi
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. This folksy bit of common sense was probably coined by a late 19th century American poet named James Riley.[1] In the 20th century, it became a repeated warning of the dangers of communism, both domestically and internationally.Elementary
From time to time we are taking a look together at the “one another” commands in Bible. It’s been a little while, but we’re back at it this morning.There are about 60 “one another” commands, given to Christians so we can know how to properly relate to each other in the church and so we can be built
If you were a college football coach in 1982, you wanted Marcus Dupree on your team. He was the “best player on the field.”[1] He broke Herschel Walker’s high school record for most touchdowns.Some said that he was ready for the NFL at age 18.Naturally, big name universities did all they could to ge
“Jesus talked about money more than any other topic.”I’ve heard that statement, or something similar, dozens of times over the years. It gained popularity because many of Jesus’ parables do involve money or possessions. Consequently, preachers started repeating statistics like “one-third of Jesus’ p
Let’s talk about Iran.It’s ancient biblical name was Persia. Its southwestern region is Elam. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to all of Persia, Iran, and Elam as Iran.If you’re even a little familiar with Bible prophecy, you know Scripture predicts that in the last days a coalition of natio
It’s the time of year when college-bound high schooler seniors are getting serious about that next step into a new domain. For many it will mean packing up and moving onto a campus in another city, maybe another state. They’re going to become Bulldogs or Bruins or Banana slugs. In my case, I became
In the United States, nearly 98% of criminals walk free.[1] It’s not that we don’t try. In fact, we spend about $300 billion every single year to fund police, courts, jails, prisons, probation, and parole.[2]Here in California, only 12% of burglary cases are even solved, let alone perpetrators punis
Interviews are a minefield of tricky questions. “What is your greatest weakness?” “Where do you see yourself in five years?” “Would you ever bend the rules to get the job done?” In many cases, the panel is more interested in how you deal with the pressure of the question than they are the specifics
Never underestimate the impact of a teacher. Most of us can think back to a teacher who not only made a subject come alive, but awakened wonder in us and a desire to truly grow in our learning. Along the way, whether they said it or not, it was clear that they actually cared about us.Even more vivid
In the 40’s and 50’s, if you needed an expert, you might go to Fred Demara. His resume is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. As a teen, he became a Catholic monk. He served in the army and the navy. He was a deputy sheriff and assistant prison warden. He became a lawyer, but wanted to teach. He taug
From time to time we are taking a look together at the “one another” commands in Bible. It’s been a little while, but we’re back at it this morning.There are about 60 “one another” commands, given to Christians so we can know how to properly relate to each other in the church and so we can be built
In the early 400’s, there was a Christian monk named Ammonius who lived in the Egyptian wilderness. They said he “reached the perfection of the love of God.”[1]Ancient writers venerated him for several factors. They recorded that he could recite the entire Old and New Testament, as well as 6,000,000
Thanks to procedural cop shows, we have become armchair coroners.When a body is found by our favorite CSI team we anxiously await the liver temp. We watch as they look for lividity, for ligature marks, petechial hemorrhaging, subdural hematomas, and signs of blunt force trauma. Are there signs of a
I’m going to introduce us to a map of North America. It is an old map, but it is contemporary as well.It’s the Technate Map of America.Quick show of hands. Who has heard of it?It was published in July 1940 by a group called Technocracy. It was created by the organization’s founder, an engineer, Howa
What a thrill it must be to win a gold medal. After so much dedication, study, training, expense, and effort, to receive that glorious award. Olympic events can be incredibly demanding. Consider the biathlon, where athletes must first cross-country ski with “all-out intensity,” then suddenly pivot t
A lot of things you learned before you don’t remember anymore. Though algebra 1 has been a high school requirement for decades, I doubt many of us more than 5 years removed from the classroom would be able to pass a pop quiz. 82% of adults have forgotten whatever trigonometry they’ve learned. 69% ca
Do you have what it takes to be victorious at the ISSA Show? It is billed as “the world’s largest and most influential event” in its category.[1] It’s a “powerful platform” to showcase your greatness and help change the way the world views the people of this particular industry.[2] You’ll have to co
In 1912, Jim Thorpe accomplished an incredible olympic feat: He won gold in both the pentathlon and the decathlon. No had ever done that before and no one has done it since.The king of Sweden presented him his medals and said, “You sir, are the greatest athlete in the world.” Not only was it true, i
The beginning of the year is a time when many people give increased attention to their health. You start or re-start that gym membership. You download that food tracker app. You schedule your annual with your doctor.If we were talking health and I said, “How are your numbers looking?” Certain metric
Most Americans believe in God. That is, when polled, 83% of Americans believe in the idea of “God” or a “Universal Spirit.” Eight out of ten Americans may claim some level of belief, but for many it doesn’t translate to communion with God or the power of God in their lives. Between 2007 and 2024, th
