Author Intent
Sam thought his teacher was a bit over the top with her interpretations of poetry. She could launch into a detailed explanation of why there are “five sibilant sounds in this phrase.” This would cause Sam to think, Don’t be ridiculous! The poet just used words with the letter S! Try writing a poem without that sound.
rescued
One of the young women in my Bible study group shared with me that an acquaintance of hers had just found out she was pregnant from a one night stand. The pregnant woman had scheduled an appointment for an imminent abortion. I had no qualms about immediately shortening our bible study to spend extra time in prayer. Explaining the need…
secular state
A chimera is a bizarre-looking character found in Greek mythology. The fire-breathing female is composed from the parts of a lion, goat, and serpent. Recently, a religious leader used the term chimera to describe the philosophy of education in his native Sweden. The highly secular country has told all its schools—including Christian ones—that they must teach subjects in a “nonconfessional,” “objective”…
random strangers
I recently read an article about a site where Web chatters are exposed to random strangers from around the world. As the article states, “One minute you’re chatting via Webcam with a mom of two [in the US] and the next you’re staring at a stark-naked man in Bangkok.” One psychiatrist calls the site “a predator’s paradise.” Definitely not a…
off-limits
James Pell and three of his buddies wandered into treacherous territory while snowboarding in the French Alps. Reflecting on the incident, Pell said, “We came to a cliff ledge and quickly realized [we would not] be able to ride out of the area. But by [that] time . . . we were stuck.”
If you’ve ever wandered off spiritually, you…
not today
A few years ago, an attempted bank robbery was thwarted when an armed and courageous customer stopped a man who claimed to have a bomb strapped to his chest. Here’s what happened.
Shortly after the bank opened, a man approached a teller and threatened to detonate a bomb if she didn’t hand over the money. Another teller, who saw what was…
