As you’ve been decorating and preparing for Thanksgiving, perhaps for several weeks, have you also been playing Thanksgiving music?  No? Why not? Several reasons come to mind, including the obvious one: Christmas decorating and celebrating has pre-empted Thanksgiving almost entirely. Christmas music began playing in many stores in early November. Some radio stations begin playing …

Do You Play Thanksgiving Holiday Music? Read More »

Drones have given us ordinary people access to views only pilots and satellites once had. Recently a friend of ours took photos of our house with his drone. The images he captured show our house and yard, which from high above look tiny in the midst of the surrounding woods and forest. The view from …

A Drone View of the Old Testament Read More »

I don’t know about you, but to me it feels as though October dragged by a bit and now November is racing ahead and we are only two weeks from Thanksgiving! I feel like every year stores are putting out their Christmas decorations earlier and earlier and Thanksgiving gets glossed over. One of the things …

The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember Read More »

My seminary class this semester is “The Story of Scripture,” a high-level view of the whole Bible. To make it memorable my prof, who also happens to be the president of the seminary, taught us all a rhythmic chant. He’s very musical and would have been a great cheerleader or yell leader in high school …

Newly-Discovered Nuggets From God’s Word Read More »

Two of my grandsons worked during their summers as counselors for Pine Cove Camp in Texas. It’s a great Christian camp with a long history of investing in kids, including inner city kids, and families. One of Pine Cove’s goals every summer is training its leaders to be grateful servants. Not begrudging unhappy servants, but …

Cultivating Gratitude: Moving From “I Have To” to “I Get To” Read More »

One spring, years ago now, Dennis and I watched other families experience all the celebratory festivities of a senior’s year in high school: proms, award nights, graduation … But our daughter, a senior that year, had decided she was done with school. At 18, she knew she was not legally bound to us anymore, so …

How to Face Holidays When It’s Hard to be Thankful Read More »