The 2008 Olympics in Beijing certainly illustrated “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” as well as any competition, perhaps better. Even those who were not usually sports fans watched and cheered for their country’s athletes, but there were two events that were especially hard for USA fans to watch. In the men’s […]
Author Archive | Charles G. Mickey
Ike’s Aftermath – Mark 4:35-41
The aftermath of Hurricane Ike preoccupied the minds and lives of many of us near the Texas coast, after he came ashore on September 13, 2008. Most endured many days without electricity and we found out how very dependent we are on that quiet kind of power. Ike’s “math” did much more than subtract electricity from […]
Flying Blind – 2 Corinthians 4:4
Jim O’Neil was flying a small Cessna aircraft from Scotland to southeastern England in the fall of 2008. He was alone and flying at 5,500 feet, when, 40 minutes into his flight, he suddenly went blind. He initially believed he’d been dazzled by bright sunlight, but he soon realized something more serious had happened. Later […]
Money Does NOT Make the Man – Romans 12:12
You have probably heard of Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford as they are being accused of fraudulent financial schemes, involving billions of dollars. You know what the headlines have revealed about their luxurious lifestyles while deceiving many investors and their advisors into trusting them. What you probably haven’t heard is the story of one of […]
God in Every Moment – Psalm 139
What I thought might be a real drudgery became a great blessing. My move from Dallas to Houston was stretched out over several months. I was commuting every Friday from Houston to Dallas to be with my wife and our little granddaughter we are raising fulltime. Then very early on Monday mornings, I drove back to Houston. I […]
Jesus In Us Or In Them? – Colossians 1, Matthew 25
One of the most wonderful messages of the New Testament to all believers is that Christ lives in us. What has been called the “participatory language” of the apostle Paul can be found throughout his letters. He told the Colossians about “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). He prayed for the Ephesians […]
Rescued To Rescue – Colossians 1:13-14
My daughter loves animals and her family loves animals. When I visit, there’s usually a new rodent or rabbit to meet. Few were bought; most were found and rescued. Especially cherished by Tiffany is her rescued cat, Hemingway, who looks and acts like the cartoon Garfield. Hemi, as he is called, was declawed early in […]
Careless With Valuables? – I Peter 4:8
Maybe you read about the guy who lost his cello. Daniel Rothmuller came home very tired one night and absent-mindedly left his cello outside his home. This was no ordinary cello. Daniel is a cellist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and this was a 1684 Stradivarius cello worth $3.5 million. What happened to this incredibly […]
Resolution or Revolution? – Romans 6
We’re usually only a few days into each new year when most of us have already been reminded how hard it is to establish a new good habit or break an old bad one. At the start of 2007 my wife and I outvoted our 10-year-old granddaughter, whom we raise fulltime, with one of our resolutions. It was that we not […]
Heroism At Its Best – Philippians 2:3
ABC’s Nightline told the story of Wesley Autrey who rescued a total stranger from being killed by a Manhatten subway train in January 2007. Wesley had his two small daughters with him, but when he saw 19-year-old Cameron Hollopeter fall on the tracks because of an apparent seizure, he jumped into action. Cameron was jerking […]