Devotionals

Have you ever heard of Decca Records?  You would’ve if, in 1962, they had not told an auditioning band that “guitar groups are on the way out.”  The Beatles went on to sign with a different label and become the most successful band of all time. In 2000, the CEO of Blockbuster Video laughed at Netflix’s offer to sell the business for $50 million.  [...]

One thing I’ve learned from participating in endurance events is that physical exhaustion over long periods can strip away the societal filters that are a normal part of daily life.  While laboring through the desert or toiling up a miles-long mountain trail, I’ve found my mind replaying past incidents where I felt I was wronged.  The seeds of self-pity begin to grow and, unfortunately, [...]

The Pew Research Center released a report titled “What Do Americans Consider Immoral?” that shows a perplexing range of personal beliefs.  According to the report, most people think that spanking a child is worse than using marijuana, that gambling is more serious than getting a divorce and that viewing pornography is more dishonorable than having an abortion. These were the overall findings of the [...]

A yoke is a wooden crosspiece placed over the necks of draft animals, such as oxen, horses and camels, that distributes the load and synchronizes the paired animals so they can work as a team.  Whether used for agriculture, forestry or transportation, yokes make the job easier for the beasts of burden and help make them more manageable for the farmer.  They’re a benefit [...]

At the start of the popular animated movie The Lion King, the king of the jungle is the powerful lion warrior, Mufasa.  He is introduced as a kind yet firm leader of the land who commands respect everywhere he goes, even among his enemies.  Mufasa’s son, Simba, is expected to take over his father's throne someday, but he is just a cub. At one [...]

Tennessee folk hero Davy Crockett is credited with coining the phrase “too big for your britches.”  In his autobiography, he recounts his experience serving under Major (and future President) Andrew Jackson.  He wrote, "I myself was one of the first to fire a gun under Andrew Jackson.  I helped to give him all his glory.  But I liked him well once: but when a [...]