The focus of the weekly worship service in most Protestant churches is the sermon – the preaching of the Word of God, the Bible.
The layout of most Protestant church sanctuaries bears this out; the pulpit, not the altar, sits front and center.
One summer, my wife and I vacationed in Newfoundland, where, in addition to trying cod tongues, a disgusting local delicacy, we went on an iceberg cruise.
Local fishermen supplement their income by loading tourists into their boats and deliberately sailing them toward icebergs. Can you say, “Titanic?”
A friend once described the vacations my wife and I take to rural Indiana as “homey.” That is an apt description. Life slows down dramatically, and we get much-needed rest. If you are stressed out or suffering from insomnia, read on.
One recent vacation highlight was daily watching a groundhog venture out to forage for food. The chubby rodent had burrowed under a storage shed behind my father-in-law’s house.
My wife and I just returned from two restful weeks in rural Indiana. For the first time in years, we made the trip by air, flying out of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach airport.
On our departure day, the airline sent a notice encouraging us to arrive 2.5 hours early. Not a problem, we were packed and ready, and our ride picked us up on schedule.
As I write this, my wife and I are preparing to leave for Indiana for a two-week vacation visiting family.
Our goal is to eat lots of vine-ripened tomatoes and sweet corn, and at least one pork tenderloin sandwich.
In mid-July, local children plunged beneath the seas in Holley Assembly of God’s three-day Vacation Bible School, “Anchored, Deepening Faith in God.”
A team of volunteers transformed the church facilities into an underwater wonderland.
I was in the first grade at Sacred Heart Catholic school when Sister Eileen read to us from Exodus 16, “The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.”
I didn’t hear anything else she read or said. In my little kid-brain I was scurrying around the wilderness gathering up this mysterious candy God had provided.
