chaos monster
Ancient civilizations were terrified by the ocean. To them, the sea was a stormy, unpredictable place where swells swallowed up courageous sailors. So it’s not surprising that the religions of the Ancient Near East all contained accounts about how their god defeated the evil sea of chaos and its seven-headed monster—often portrayed as a dragon or serpent. Whether it was the Mesopotamian Marduk slaying Tiamat, goddess of the sea, or the Canaanite Baal cutting off the heads of the oceanic chaos monster, the ancients made a point of saying that their god had triumphed over evil.
with the Lord
Everyone wants to know what heaven will be like, and over the past several years a spate of books have promised to tell them. Don Piper was first with his 90 Minutes in Heaven. Following that bestseller, The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven and Heaven Is for Real were published and enthusiastically received by readers. One book went in the opposite direction—literally—23 Minutes in Hell.
village of eternity
British journalist Tracey Lawson visited Campodimele, Italy, and dubbed it the “Village of Eternity.” The 1,000-year-old town rests like a crown atop a mountain, and the average resident lives 95 years. The locals eat well—mostly simple, fresh food. According to Lawson, the village is a “little cluster of medieval houses [with] olive trees on the slopes in the background.” The main piazza boasts a panoramic view of the Liri Valley, and twilight patrons of the Moonlight Café can sit outside and watch the moon ascend like a slow-moving lantern.
must-see destinations
The title of a 2010 LIFE special edition magazine reads: “Heaven on Earth: The World’s Must-See Destinations.” It contains stunning photography of places such as the Grand Canyon, Alaska’s Denali, Petra in Jordan, and Rio de Janeiro. I’ve actually been fortunate enough to visit a few of them. But I have yet to see most of those scenic wonders.
when God arrives
Last January, as Haiti reeled from a crushing earthquake, one tragic account told of a mother who had three daughters between the ages of four and nine. She had been cooking for her girls when the earthquake hit. Severely injured, the mom could not move or care for her children. When help arrived, the young girls had gone two days…
old black coat
I know I should say “bye-bye” to my beloved black coat. It’s almost 15 years old and the cuffs are threadbare. The blue satin lining is torn. Still, every time I put it on, it hugs my shoulders perfectly and falls at just the right length. I’ll admit it—I’m attached.
Psalm 102 says that the earth and heavens will one…
maranatha
My children were so excited about their cousins coming over that they rode their bikes to the end of our road in anticipation of their arrival. As I watched them stand sentinel at the top of our hill, ready to escort their cousins’ van to our house, I was reminded of the ancient word parousia. A parousia, or appearance of…
the future is now (partly)
Bafaluto, a small village of three hundred in Gambia, was barely surviving. Without access to clean water, the entire population was stuck in a cycle of abject poverty, relentless disease, and hunger—until Brian Harrold and Pamela Morgan, entrepreneurs from Northern Ireland, spent a small fortune digging an 80-meter well for them. When asked what compelled him to do it, Brian…
all shall be well
Between natural disasters leveling wide swaths of crops and inflation dramatically skyrocketing prices, even subsistence foods like rice or beans have been pushed almost out of reach for many in developing economies. In response to the estimated one million North Koreans who starved to death in the late 1990s, government researchers have been working to develop a noodle that "delays…
high hopes
What do the following have in common? An unemployed man flees his life of poverty by becoming a suicide bomber. A soldier unable to defend his homeland hugs a grenade to his chest in one final act of "honor." A new mother guilt-ridden over the accidental death of her infant, swallows a bottle of sleeping pills.
All are dying for…
