ODB: Lesson From A Toothache
When I was a child I often had a toothache,” wrote C. S. Lewis in his classic book Mere Christianity. He continued, “and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something that would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least not till the pain became very bad. . . . I knew she would take me to the dentist the next m
ODB: What Do We Want?
My friend Mary tells me that she doesn’t always sing all the words to the hymns and choruses in a church service. She says, “It doesn’t seem honest to sing, ‘All I want is Jesus’ when my heart wants many other things too.” I appreciate her honesty.In verse 25 of Psalm 73, Asaph sounds like a spiritually minded man who wants God only: “There is none upon earth that I desire besides Yo
ODB: D-Day
Recently I asked my older sister, Mary Ann, if she remembered when our family moved into the house where we lived for many years. She replied, “You were about 9 months old, and I remember that Mother and Daddy stayed up all night packing boxes and listening to the radio. It was June 6, 1944, and they were listening to live coverage of the Normandy Invasion.”Today marks the 70th anniversary of
ODB: Reframing The Picture
For 3 months I had a ringside seat— or should I say a bird’s-eye view—of God’s amazing handiwork. Ninety feet above the floor of Norfolk Botanical Garden, workers installed a webcam focused on the nest of a family of bald eagles, and online viewers were allowed to watch.When the eggs hatched, Mama and Papa Eagle were attentive to their offspring, taking turns hunting for food and guarding
ODB: Room And Board
On a recent trip to England, my wife and I visited Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon. The house is more than 400 years old, and it was the childhood and family home of William Shakespeare’s wife.The tour guide drew our attention to a table made with wide boards. One side was used for eating meals and the other for chopping food. In English life, different expressions grew from thi
ODB: The View From The End
Over the course of one year, Richard LeMieux’s lucrative publishing business collapsed. Soon, his wealth disappeared, and he became depressed. Eventually, LeMieux began to abuse alcohol and his family deserted him. At the lowest point in his life, he was homeless, broken, and destitute. However, it was during this time that he turned to God. He later wrote a book about what he learned.The Israel
ODB: The Careful Walk
One of my favorite places to visit in Jamaica is Ocho Rios, home of Dunn’s River Falls—a spectacle that never ceases to amaze. Water cascades down a long series of rocks as it makes its way to the Caribbean Sea. Adventurers can climb the falls, scrambling over rounded rocks on an invigorating trek to the top. The flowing water, the potentially slippery surface, and the steep angles make the go
ODB: Kangaroos And Emus
Two of Australia’s indigenous creatures, kangaroos and emus, have something in common—they seldom move backward. Kangaroos, because of the shape of their body and the length of their strong tail, can bounce along with forward movement, but they cannot shift easily into reverse. Emus can run fast on their strong legs, but the joints in their knees seem to make backward movement difficult. Both
ODB: As White As Snow
Iwas driving my son home from school one day when snow began to fall. The cottony fluff came down steadily and quickly. Eventually, we slowed to a stop, boxed in by traffic. From inside our vehicle, we watched a transformation take place. Dark patches of soil turned white. Snow softened the sharp outlines of buildings; it coated the cars around us, and accumulated on every tree in sight.That snowf