from a distance?
From a Distance,” the 1991 Grammy Song of the Year popularized by Bette Midler, describes what the world looks like from a distance: “From a distance the world looks blue and green . . . there is harmony . . . And no one is in need. And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease . . . We are instruments . . . playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.” The song ends with the lingering refrain: “God is watching us from a distance.”
you’re beautiful
Ashley Munroe penned the message “You’re beautiful” on nearly 2,000 notes and then placed one on each locker in her high school. Via surveillance cameras, school authorities saw Ashley distributing the notes. The principal assumed she was causing trouble and suspended her. Several hundred students, however, signed a petition to help Ashley avoid punishment. Perhaps her best reward was hearing from a girl who had planned to commit suicide that day but did not because of Ashley’s message.
hit the cymbals!
In an instructional video, Neil Percy, lead percussionist for the London Symphony Orchestra, demonstrates the proper technique for holding cymbals to generate the the loudest noise possible. He begins by holding the cymbals vertically just below his waist. He clashes them together while moving them skyward. Then he ends with both hands extended over his head, the cymbals reverberating joyfully in the air above him. The biggest strokes on the cymbals, he says, might be used in a symphony “[at] the heights of a crescendo, or the combination of a really big stream of notes.”
rejecting the red
The world’s biggest sperm bank is turning away redheads. (No, I’m not advocating the use of sperm banks.) Why is Cryos International rejecting “ginger” donors from its ranks? Because not enough clients want red-haired children. In fact, the only country that has a high demand for redheaded donors is Ireland—a land known for people with lovely red locks. Personally, I…
one lost coin
Where’s that brown envelope I left on the kitchen table?” I asked my daughter. “On the dining room table,” she said. It wasn’t on that table, so I began a frantic search throughout the entire house— from the kitchen to the bedrooms—for the misplaced envelope. Even the trashcans weren’t spared from the scrutiny. What was the big fuss over a…
sexuality and the Bible
In his booklet What the Bible Says—and Doesn’t Say— about Homosexuality, Mel White makes the following claim: “The Bible is a book about God, about God’s love for the world and the people of the world. It is the history of God’s love at work rescuing, renewing, empowering humankind. It was never intended to be a book about human sexuality.…
the Potter and the clay
—pics and copy submitted by Terry Lampel, US
protecting life
Russell Turnbull was riding a bus one night when a fight broke out. He tried to intervene, but in the process someone sprayed ammonia into his right eye. The powerful liquid scarred his cornea, causing him to lose sight and experience chronic pain. A doctor was able to cut away a tiny portion of Turnbull’s other cornea and use adult…
every living thing
"The life of every living thing is in [God's] hand, and the breath of every human being" (Job 12:10).
[caption id="attachment_6297" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Tiny Turtle at Bali, Indonesia"]
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—submitted by Ruth Tobing, Indonesia
micro, not macro
Dr. Fazale Rana, a Christian biochemist, believes in evolution. He notes that there are undeniably at least three types of evolution taking place today: Microevolution within a species; speciation, species giving rise to closely related sister species; microbial evolution, changes in viruses and bacteria.
What Dr. Rana doesn’t see over time, however, is macroevolution—the change of one kind of animal into an…
shalom
One of my neighbors, who was born in Tibet, has taught me the traditional Tibetan greeting, “Tashi Delek.” Whenever I meet him, no matter the time of day, I see his gregarious smile and hear, “Tashi Delek”—and I reply with the same words. The words mean “fine, well” or “all things good.” I look forward to seeing him—and receiving his…
the beauty of God
Novelist D. H. Lawrence believed the human soul needed beauty more than bread, and for good reason. There is a reason why we bring flowers to the depressed, take the weary on scenic drives, and choose the restaurant table with the view of the lake. Beauty refreshes, encourages, and inspires us. The reason can be found in its source. As…
made in God's image
My wife, Merryn, and I once visited a large market in Sydney. On that day a man was cutting out small silhouettes of people’s faces from black cardstock. He would complete one in two minutes for two dollars. We gave him the money and his shiny scissors went to work, his eyes darting between us and his handiwork. Within 2…
