Words matter. About a year ago, President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for a second presidential term. He had the Democratic Party nomination clinched due to a lack of credible candidates willing to run again him, but his poor debate performance against Donald Trump caused the party …
Photos
Summer is the time for projects. My wife and I spend summers on Vancouver Island, and I have more time to do projects when the days are longer. For example, I lug an assortment of books to plow through and try to balance nonfiction books, mainly theological, with best sellers. This summer, my large …
Tears
Rachel Reeves is the United Kingdom (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government. Her position parallels the United States Treasury Secretary. Prime Minister Keir Starmer selected her to serve in his cabinet. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is one of the most senior government positions …
F-Bomb
Two things in life are certain: change and paying taxes. Both will happen, whether we like it or not. This past week, both were in full view. Congress was working long hours to pass a bill that retains the tax cuts, due to expire this year, that were enacted during the first Trump term. As for …
Happy Warrior
Last weekend, the world learned that the United States bombed Iran’s three nuclear sites that were involved in upgrading uranium to possibly make a nuclear bomb. For most of my life, the United States and Iran have been in conflict. When I was in engineering school, there were Iranian engineering …
Diet Coke
My wife and I enjoy traveling internationally. We have a global wall map upstairs and have placed push pins on the locations where we have visited. The map is covered with push pins, and we add new locations each year. One ritual that we have shared during our travels is a Diet Coke break. Diet Coke …
Pentecost
This past Sunday was the day of Pentecost and the start of Ordinary Time, the last period in the Christian calendar. Pentecost is recorded in Acts 2:1–41. Jesus’ disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem “until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) Jews were celebrating the …
Cross and Sword
During the second half of May, I traveled to Portugal with my family for a two-week vacation. We flew to Lisbon and toured the city for four days. For two of the days, we employed a local guide who first gave us an in-depth tour of Lisbon and later took us to the region around Setubal, a lovely city …
Caravaggio
My first trip to Italy was during the spring of 1995. I was living in London as an ex-pat and my children were on Spring Break. We booked a hotel in Florence and flew there for five days. I planned to visit the top museums, walk the ancient streets, and visit the outdoor markets. My daughter was in …
The Audacity of Hope
My wife and I returned from two-year European expatriate assignment and we looked forward to conveniently driving to my parent’s home on Christmas Day to see family rather than flying international. My siblings and their spouses previously agreed to draw names for gifts, and to limiting gifts to a …