Insight From Our Ash Trees
Our Shenandoah Valley forests are taking another hit. A little over 100 years ago, the Chestnut Blight eliminated one of the most useful and stately trees in our woodlands. About 50 years later, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid began to hammer our Eastern Hemlocks and many have succumbed to their relentless…
Graduation, Football, and Life
It’s a special weekend here in Shenandoah County as our high school seniors walk across stages, pick up their diplomas, and head off into life. Many surrounding localities have already celebrated these milestones and a few are yet to come, but by mid-June most schools are out and students who…
The Folly of Millennium Tower
In 2002, Millennium Partners pitched a proposal to build the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi in San Francisco. The Planning Commission approved their request and the $350 million construction project began in 2005. Four years later, the 645 foot 58 story skyscraper known as Millennium Tower was completed…
A Fall At The Falls
As I shared in last week’s column, Nancy and I were privileged to recently visit Hawaii and enjoy many scenic and historic sites as well as the local cuisine, of which I brought back not a little on my person. It was truly an enjoyable trip and we are thankful…
We Still Need To Pray For America
The first Thursday of every May has been designated as America’s National Day of Prayer. Although we should pray every day, this special time is set aside for Christians to join together to pray for our nation, our citizens, and our leaders. The USA has and continues to enjoy many…
The Resurrection Deserves A Celebration!
Sunday marks the observance of the greatest miracle in human history. The resurrection of a human being who had been dead for three days was unprecedented until it occurred just outside Jerusalem in the first century. There have been reports of miraculous healings, incredible weather changes, sudden provisions, military turnarounds,…
Tears on Inauguration Day
This weekend Christians around the world will celebrate Palm Sunday, the day on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem declaring Himself to be the promised Messiah. His choice of a donkey for His mount not only fulfilled a prophecy Zechariah made hundreds of years earlier, but also underscored His kingship in…
Fooling Ourselves About God
“Your shoestring’s untied!” “Your shirt’s unbuttoned.” “There’s a fly in your soup.” You are likely to hear any of these on the first day of April as early risers seek to dupe those who fail to remember the Day of the Fool. Although practical jokes and pranks have been around…
What Goldilocks Can Teach Us
Most of us are familiar with the story of Goldilocks. This precious little girl went for an unsupervised walk in the woods and happened upon the home of three absentee bears. After sampling their porridge on the table, she gobbled up the portion belonging to the baby bear because it…
Anti-Semitism Wears Many Cloaks
Last weekend many Jews celebrated the Festival of Purim which remembers God’s miraculous deliverance of their people through the courage of young Queen Esther. In this Old Testament book, an evil man by the name of Haman hatched a plot to annihilate the Jews through a craftily worded executive order…