Connected
Virtuous Friendship
Aristotle’s philosophy of friendship consisted of 3 kinds of relationships; Utility in which you are friendly to a person while they are fulfilling your need, Pleasure in which you are in a relationship as long as the other is giving you pleasure, and Virtue. The first two descriptions are a selfish kind of relationship. But […]
Song of the Vineyard
A friend gave me a devotion today that she had copied from one of her books. It was in reference to Isaiah 5:1-7, regarding the Song of the Vineyard. In the passage, the author laments the fact that he has tended to his vineyard, yet it produced sour grapes. He is comparing the vineyard to […]
Love You to the Moon
Preparing for Valentine’s Day, I took my mom to the card store last week and she picked out the “I Love you to the moon and back” card and a box of candy for my dad. Then a few days later, I took my dad to the same store and he picked out a silver […]
Good Neighbors
In my aqua aerobics class, we have a topic for discussion on Wednesdays. Today’s topic was good neighbors. I shared my story of the wonderful neighborhood we lived in when my oldest son was a child. There were 4 houses that were all very good friends. The kids played together and the adults socialized together. […]
History Repeats Itself
In my bible study class tonight, we went through the book of Judges. This is a rather disturbing book describing the continuous cycle of disobedience, consequences, and faith of the nation of Israel. During that period of time, the Israelites would do whatever they wanted, deciding not to obey God and not to teach their […]
Smiles To Go
My dad had a test at the hospital today, so my mom and I spent some time in the waiting area. While we were there, an older gentleman started chatting. He told us how he was there to have the battery replaced in his pacemaker. About 6 years ago, his heart was in such a […]
The Regular
As my dad and I were out and about today, we stopped at a coffee shop. There were the typical people there, a family with 2 small boys, a couple of people chatting, and a couple of others with their computers. Then an older man walked in. The barista greeted him by name. The man […]
Lives Connected
A friend of mine turned 70 years old the other day and her family threw her a “surprise” birthday party today. Evidently, she was tipped off and it wasn’t quite the surprise that everyone had hoped for, but she played along nicely. One of her friends made a beautiful mural of photos that showed her […]
Love Overflowing
Today I received an update from a young man who runs a program to help teenage youth in foster homes transition to a life on their own. His wife recently gave birth to their first child. In his note, he talked about how lucky they have been to have so much support from their friends […]
Blessing Cards
I finished and mailed my Christmas cards today. Yes, they are a little late, but I can’t seem to get them out much sooner. As I completed each card, I thought of and prayed for each person in the family. I found myself more grateful for them and the influence and blessing they have been […]
Still Finding God 