In This Strange Task of Living   August 2, 1970

“In their fear your forefathers gathered you too near together . . .”1 wrote Kahlil Gibran. If we live too far apart, life is lonely, but in quarters too close there is often...

Home--the Healing Place of the Soul   July 26, 1970

There is a kind of domestic diplomacy that could make all the difference in how happy home is, and how happy we are⎯remembering, as a Greek saying said it: Home is “the healing place of the...

Endure…for Days of Happiness   July 19, 1970

There is a short sentence from Vergil that says: “Endure, and keep yourselves for days of happiness.”1 There are times when we feel that we can’t endure that we can’t face...

Those Who Keep Things Going   July 5, 1970

A letter from a friend has turned our thoughts to a citation from a current source: “To me there is an aura of grandeur about the dull routine of maintenance…. It is easier to build than...

When Is Youth? Who Is Youth?   June 28, 1970

So much is said concerning the problems of youth; the education, the attitudes, and actions; the rights and responsibilities; the privileges and possibilities of youth—from all of which come these...

For the Family Is Forever   June 21, 1970

“Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank Thee for this place in which we dwell; for the love that united us; for the peace accorded us this day; for the hope with which we expect the...

It Isn't Fair to Expect Perfection   June 14, 1970

We live in a world of imperfection, and certainly there are not perfect people. And one of the surest ways to break up a home, to break up a marriage, to break up a friendship, a business, or any...

Your Face   June 7, 1970

“God has given you one face,” said Shakespeare, “and you make yourselves another.”1 A face isn’t just features and skin⎯it’s a soul, a mind, a heart put into...

Trust Him to Run All Things Well   May 31, 1970

The swift passing of the seasons brings all of us times to think upon the length of life, as friends and loved ones come and leave, and as we ourselves face always such uncertainties. Not one of us...

I Shall Not Waste My Days…   May 17, 1970

In some moving lines Jack London suggested some attitudes on age, and the fuller use of life: “I would rather be ashes than dust!” he said. “I would rather that my spark should...

Oh! Be There, Mothers--Be There…   May 10, 1970

Some time ago I watched two pigeons making a crude nest in a secluded crevice outside one of my windows. It was winter. It was cold. Food must have been difficult to find. It was the mother who...

Where Are Your Children?   May 3, 1970

What might be our thoughts and feelings if we should find ourselves face to face with the Lord and Master of mankind? Suppose His steady eyes were upon us at this moment⎯and that we would know that...

The Strength of Being Calm   April 19, 1970

It has been long since William George Jordan wrote his essay on The Majesty of Calmness – but perhaps more than then, it is needed now. He did not have in mind the calmness of inertia, or of...

If It Were Happening to Us…   April 12, 1970

From the window of a waiting train we watched a young mother with two young daughters, all dressed in their best, eagerly, anxiously looking at passengers arriving. And then there was a light in...

Life Hath Quicksands--Life Hath Snares   April 5, 1970

There is a poignant, moving line from Longfellow: “Oh thou child of many prayers! Life hath quicksands – life hath snares!” Young people often wonder why parents worry, why they counsel...

Faith Is Not a Theory   March 22, 1970

We Tell Them Better Than We Show Them   March 15, 1970

There is concern, of course, for young people, for their problem, and for the permissive way in which some of them sometimes live their lives. But, as one cause of such concern, must we not admit...

Until It Was Tested…   March 8, 1970

There is an interesting observation from a person who bought some equipment, which looked good until he tried to use it – and then it wouldn’t work. “The failure,” he said,...

If You Don't Want Temptation to Follow You…   March 1, 1970

As one whimsical observer said, “When some folks flee from temptation, they leave a forwarding address.” This brings us to what could be called tempting temptation, flirting with it,...

If Everyone Must Watch Everyone…   February 22, 1970

There is an old-fashioned subject on which something needs to be said, and that is: simple honesty. There can be no credit, no contract, no transaction, no safe situation without the element of...