Many people have problems with the church in America, in the world, for that matter. I cannot blame them. The church has been responsible for any number of evils on this planet. The church has been responsible for a great deal of suffering and sorrow. The church has its own sins, in what she has done, and in what she has failed to do. And when we hear the words of the many that claim to speak for the church, as we have in these recent past few days, I can only feel sadness for the people who will turn away from the teachings of Jesus, because of the ramblings of a few idiots. The beauty of the...

Chapter One–Aa After more than twenty years in homicide, it was surprising that Detective Peter Stone would be unprepared for what he was about to encounter.  He had seen many, many tableaus of death and destruction before.  He had seen plenty of carnage, blood and gore and the remnants of terror.  There was none of that here.  Here, the victims sat, looking almost peaceful, around the kitchen table, almost as if they had all fallen asleep at dinner, except there were no table settings, no food, no clues to what exactly had happened, each bound with duct tape to the chair where the final...

One Saturday, Sam and Dave were out playing a round of golf.  As they were approaching the 9th hole, Sam looked out across to green to see a funeral procession going by on the street next to the golf course.  Sam stood still, took off his hat, and placed it over his heart.  There he stood, silently until the procession drove past.  Then he continued his play. Dave said, “Gee, Sam.  That was mighty nice and respectful of you to stop your play like that out of respect for that funeral procession.” “Well,” Sam said, “I was married to her for thirty-two years.  She deserves that much.” You...

I read a very interesting article in the newspaper the other day.  At first, it gave me a little hope.  Given a survey, a full 89% of the young people questioned felt that being a good person was more important than having money.  There was one problem, however.  It seems that a third of those same young people had stolen from their parents within the year.  One fifth had stolen from a store.  One fifth admitted stealing from a friend. A full 69% confessed to cheating on a test in school within the month and 90% had admitted lying to a parent about something significant within the last month. ...

I was teaching my kung fu class the other day working with one of the students.  He was having a difficult time with one of the movements I’d shown him a few weeks earlier.  He just wasn’t getting it.  I told him to just move naturally.  “You can tell when you’re moving correctly,” I told him, “It just feels right.  It’s totally natural.  When you feel off balance, when you feel awkward, it’s a sign you’re doing it wrong.”  As children, we move naturally, and then, somehow, we forget how to move, how to breathe. And then I asked him if he practiced every day.  He answered...