Becky and I have returned from our trip to Israel with great thanks for the opportunity and with wonderful memories we will cherish forever.  It was a good trip, and in many ways “a good trip” is the best summary I can give. No qualifications.  It was a good trip.  The sights we saw, the places we stayed, the traveling companions: it was a good trip.

But let me share three observations.

Observation 1 – Israel is not the only holy land:  The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. — Psalm 24:1

Our trip was dubbed “A Holy Land Study Tour.”  If I tell people I have just returned from the Holy Land, they know where I was. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all use the term “Holy Land,” and it does not need much explanation.  I prefer to say that we were in Israel. To be sure, it is a unique place in terms of human history. The events told in the Old and New Testaments took place in this land.  But if King David, who lived his life in the place, is correct about what he wrote in Psalm 24, this land is not the only holy land. The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.  That means that Auburn, Indiana, Hunting Park in Philadelphia, Kigali in Rwanda, Favela da Ventosa in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Kyiv in Ukraine, are holy as well. They belong to the Lord, and his story continues to unfold in them.

We traveled to Israel, and it was a good trip. Continue reading →

Before we get to the spaghetti, just a word to let you know that Becky and I will be away for the next couple of weeks – a trip to Israel! “Observations” will be back when we are back

She is called Yale’s “Happiness Professor” and in addition to her immensely popular classes on the psychology of the good life offered at Yale, Laurie Santos hosts the “Happiness Lab” blog, looking at scientific research on happiness and offering tips on avoiding anxiety, negative emotions, and what she calls that “meh” feeling.

Professor Santos recently sat down for an interview with a New York Times reporter. Excerpts from the interview were published in this past Monday’s paper.

The reporter asked an interesting question, “A lot of stuff that we know can have a positive effect on happiness — developing a sense of meaning, connection with other people, meditation and reflection — are commonplace religious practices. How helpful are they outside religion?”

I found the happiness professor’s answer interesting, as well. Continue reading →

When we first moved to Auburn, Indiana, I thought I might need a few windows opened to the wider world – not that Auburn, Indiana, isn’t a pretty wide world – so I subscribed to some of the national newspapers in addition to the DeKalb County Star. Among the papers to which I subscribed was the Washington Post. They gave me a decent deal at $40 for the first year.  I knew the subscription would go to $100 per year after the first year, and that I would need to be vigilant about the auto-renew program in which they had enrolled me.

The Washington Post, as you may know, is owned by Jeff Bezos of Amazon, who also flies into space in his own Blue Origin spaceships.

While I was glad to be able to get past the Post’s paywall for an occasional news article or opinion piece, Jeff Bezos’ paper did not offer the clear view of the world I hoped it might, so I declined to re-up for the second year, especially at the $100 price tag. As soon as I clicked the “no thank you” button on the renewal site, a pop-up appeared telling me they would be happy to have me back for the same $40 I had been paying all along. Well, first, even at $40, I had not found the subscription all that worthwhile, and, secondly, it occurred to me that they were quite the scoundrels. They were dishonest. They would have been more than willing to take my $100 had I been willing to pay it. Only after I innocently said “no” did they offer me the deal they would have been willing to make all along.  I don’t like bartering with street vendors at tourist sites, and I did not want to barter with the third richest person in the world over a newspaper subscription. Continue reading →

A week ago, we were driving home from a week in Memphis, Tennessee (actually, Germantown, a nice suburb of Memphis).  Our return trip had been delayed a day by Killer Storm Landon (I don’t know why every winter storm needs a name!).  Landon was not the killer he was advertised to be, but still it was wise not to travel on Thursday when Memphis was covered in ice and a foot of still-falling snow was piling up on the ground in the north.

Plans are made to be changed.  Scripture suggests that all our plans should be made subject to the possibility that God will change them.  James cautions us, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”

If the Lord wills.

We did not need divine revelation to know that this past Friday would be a better travel day than Thursday.  Accuweather made things clear enough.  Friday it would be.  But we weren’t done changing plans. Continue reading →

This was written nearly a week ago.  The dull and dreary day of the forecast became a blustery blizzard, so we have delayed our return by a day.  Still, nothing dull and dreary about a four-year old’s birthday week.  It was a great time, and we should be home tonight.

If all has goes well, Becky and I will have returned home yesterday from a week in Memphis, Tennessee, celebrating our grandson Theo’s fourth birthday. There was to be a dinosaur theme for the party. What could be better!

In anticipation of the trip, I checked the forecast for yesterday’s weather before we left home.  At that point it told us to expect chilly temperatures and the possibility of snow when we arrived home.  But as you can see in the screen shot above, it went on to tell us it would be a dull and dreary day.

I wish the weather forecasters would stick to the weather.  How can any day be dull and dreary when you’re remembering a dinosaur-themed fourth birthday party?

Here’s to joy and thanksgiving in life!