So they stood, Stacking stone upon stone, A wall against the coming flood Two strong souls, Against a fear unknown, Believers in the power of blood . People said, They were just wasting time, Nothing can hold the water back Look Instead Of putting in your dime, Come grab some stones and help us stack Their heads shook, They left them to their task, And went back home to pack their things Stone on stone, Without question to ask, Their hope in their own strength still clings The floods came, Water rushing downhill. Changes the face of fear for good, Stone on Stone, Against current and still, After...

There is an old saying that we all know. You are what you eat. I never understood that statement, not really, until I had some health and nutrition classes in college. And even then it didn’t really hit me. It wasn’t until I started working out a lot that I came to understand that the food we eat is literally what makes our bodies. Our bodies renew themselves on the average of every seven years. In fact, certain tissues renew faster, and others a little slower. But the average is every seven years. That means that the you that exists now is not the same you that existed seven years...

Anybody who has ever been to a sporting event or seen one on television as seen some fool holding up a sign that said, “John 3:16″ I saw this sign a number of times before I finally went and looked it up to see just what it says in John, chapter 3, verse 16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” That’s what John 3:16 says. And I’ve heard that verse over and over during my life, but I never gave it a lot of thought mostly because of the context in which I heard...

Everybody likes a good party. I know I do. I don’t go to nearly enough. Let’s face it. People just love to celebrate. Just about every culture I know has some kind of harvest festival, a way to celebrate the gathering of food. And that carries over even to modern times. I know that it has always been a habit for me, and just about everybody I know, to go out to dinner, or do something to celebrate payday. At our school, we nearly always have a TGIF celebration at a local restaurant/bar on payday. And isn’t payday really our urban version of a harvest? We celebrate births, weddings, birthdays,...

Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, “Do you want to go to heaven?” The man said, “I do Father.” The priest said, “Then stand over there against the wall.” Then the priest asked the second man, “Do you want to go to heaven?” “Certainly, Father,” was the man’s reply. “Then stand over there against the wall,” said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to O’Toole and said, “Do you want to go to heaven?” O’Toole said, “No, I don’t Father.” The priest said, “I don’t believe this. You mean to tell me that when you...

I once went to a funeral for a woman who worked at our church. Rosemarie Kelley passed away quite suddenly.  Her death took us all by surprise.   She was one of those people you don’t always think about, just one of those people who is always there. And you don’t really notice just how important they are until they are gone. Rosemarie was one of those people who did just about everything around the church. When something needed doing, it was usually Rosemarie that did it. The church was absolutely packed. It was standing room only, the kind of crowd you generally only see at Christmas and...

Well, Saturday came and went and the faithful are still here.  The Apocalypse did not come to pass.  And all around the country, people are having a good bit of fun at the expense of those who chose to believe the message that Family Radio spent millions of dollars proclaiming.  A certain amount of laughter is understandable.  Certainly, the idea that we can know when the end of time is coming is not a gospel idea.  Jesus said that he would return like a “thief in the night.”  He also said no one knew the time of his return but the Father. Still, the fact that a great many people believed...

I love a good story, don’t you? I guess everybody does. That’s why I am captivated by the gospels. The story of Jesus is such a good story. It is slightly different in each of the gospels, and each one has its own special charm. People so often read those stories and never think of them as such, as a story. Whether or not you believe what is written there or not, it is still a great story. I seldom meet people who look at what is written in the gospels as a story. People are usually too busy taking everything written there as sacred text and as such, seem afraid to enjoy it, as if enjoying...

Jesus was walking around Heaven one day and came out by the gates where St. Peter was hard at work sorting out those who would enter Heaven from those who wouldn’t. Jesus said, “Pete, you’re at the gate a lot. When do you take a break?” Peter said, “Never. This is my job. All the time.” Jesus, feeling compassionate for his friend said, “Hey, I’ll take over for a while, why don’t you grab a cup of coffee.” Peter gladly said yes and went on his way. Jesus opened the Book of Life and looked up to the next person in line. “Name?” he said. “Mary O’Donnell,” the old woman...

There is a cute joke about a guy, let’s call him George for no particular reason, who is a real born again type Christian. The news on the television announces that the dam is about to break and the whole valley is about to be flooded. All his neighbors are getting ready to evacuate, but old George just sits on his porch in his rocking chair and does nothing. “You better get packed and get going”, George, his neighbors all say. But George just sits there. “Nope, the Lord is going to come and save me, I know. I prayed about it.” The neighbors all do their best to convince him but it is...