Ken

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." I grew up singing those words and never knew the name Herbert Woolston - the man who wrote them. Born just before the Civil War, Woolston must have been a forward-thinking man. His lyrics crossed racial lines at a time when people were divided by their skin color - not to mention the law of the land. It's likely his words made folks just as uncomfortable as Jesus did when he opened his arms to children. It is easy to sing the lyrics to "Jesus Loves the Little Children" but it is much harder to actually practice them. If Jesus, who had no children of his own, cared for kids as deeply as he did ... what does that…

Every person has few habits. A few are stranger than others. Truman Capote, who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s, wouldn’t start or finish a piece of writing on a Friday. As a rule, he never left more than three cigarette butts in his ashtray, placing any extras in his coat pocket. Franz Kafka, who wrote The Metamorphosis and The Trail, had a rather unique morning ritual. For 10 minutes he would do a series of swings, stretches, and body-weight exercises. That isn't so unusual or unique. However, he had the habit of performing those exercise while standing naked at the window. Habits dictate how we start and end our days. What happens in betweend determines the quality of our lives. Whether you believe Jesus is the Son of God or not, there is no doubt that Jesus has influenced history more than any other person. Follower or not, most of us…

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8…

If you had only six months left to live, would you do what you are doing now? Would you live the way you’re living now? Admiral Hyman Rickover was in charge of the original development of naval nuclear propulsion. He was known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” He was also known for his tough interviews. One of things he especially wanted to know was how candidates would act under stress. He kept a chair in his office that had a few inches sawed off the front two legs. When a candidate sat down, they would immediately be off-balance. His theory: If you can't handle sitting in an awkward chair, I'm not going to put you in charge of a nuclear submarine. Former President Jimmy Carter once interviewed with Admiral Rickover for a position. He tells the story in his autobiography entitled, Why Not the Best: The First Fifty…