Illustrations Archives

• Thanksgiving  (November 1, 2008)
  There once was a poor, rural family who were greatly concerned because their little boy had not started talking. The family didn?t have many resources to call upon, so the problem went on for a long time.
• Thanksgiving  (November 1, 2008)
  Just about a year before he succumbed to cancer, Tony Snow, former political pundit, speech writer and White House press secretary, said the following to the 2007 graduating class at the Catholic University of America:
• Thanksgiving  (November 1, 2008)
  Have you read the story about the teacher who asked her pupils what they thought the Seven Wonders of the World were for today?
• Self-Esteem  (November 1, 2008)
  Do you ever wonder what you are worth? Recently we read about John Odom, a baseball player for the independent Calgary Vipers, who was traded to the Laredo Broncos for 10 maple baseball bats.
• Prayer  (November 1, 2008)
  If you have ever read the ?Dennis the Menace? comic strip, you know that Dennis often comes up with some interesting prayers.
• Christmas  (November 1, 2008)
  The Queen of England has two birthdays. Her actual birthday is April 21, but the decision makers wanted to celebrate it when the weather is more pleasant, so her official birthday is the second Saturday in June.
• Christmas  (November 1, 2008)
  Under the Julian calendar, Christmas fell on Jan. 6. When the new Gregorian calendar came into use, Christmas was moved to Dec. 25; but some in Britain kept celebrating it on Jan. 6.
• Christmas  (November 1, 2008)
  One of the great mystery stories of G.K. Chesterton is entitled The Man Who Was Thursday. Jesus is the ?man who was Christmas,? for Christmas is embodied in a person.
• Christmas  (November 1, 2008)
  The late Dr. Ward Patterson had a varied career as a writer, campus minister and college professor. As a young man, he determined to seek adventure and travel around the world on a motorcycle.
• Christmas  (November 1, 2008)
  In a Native American community, they have an interesting custom.
• Unpopular Promises  (September 2, 2008)
  There are hundreds or even thousands of promises in the Bible, depending on who is counting.
• To Be Seen of Men  (September 2, 2008)
  Jesus said, "Be careful not to do your ?acts of righteousness? before men, to be seen of them. If you do you, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
• Looking Ahead  (September 2, 2008)
  In a Joe McKeever cartoon, the pastor sits behind his desk. (We know it?s make-believe because the desk is clear of everything except his blotter and the nameplate with "Pastor" on it.)
• How Great Is Our God!  (September 2, 2008)
  Our planet is on the outer edge of our galaxy, The Milky Way. Light from stars on the opposite edge takes 100,000 years to reach us?and that is traveling more than 186,000 miles per second. Our sun is only one among two hundred billion stars in our galaxy.
• Adversity, Preparing for  (September 2, 2008)
  J. Floyd Jones in the 1958 Word Lectures at Guilford College told of a Maine farmer who built his stone fence four feet wide and three feet high. Why? That way if it blows over it will be better than it was before.
• Hatred  (September 2, 2008)
  Christopher Paul was born and raised in Ohio. Why does an American citizen from the heartland of America hate America?
• Adversity's Opportunity  (September 2, 2008)
  Philip Anschutz was in his mid-20s when his father took ill and turned over to him the oil-drilling business. For awhile, every hole was a dry hole.
• Imperfection  (September 2, 2008)
  Alan Greenspan acknowledged in his recent book, The Age of Turbulence, "There are errors in this book. I do not know where they are. If I did, they wouldn?t be there. But with close to two hundred thousand words, my probabilistic mind tells me some are wrong. My apologies in advance."
• Marriage, Timing  (August 4, 2008)
  Bob got home from work at his usual hour of 5 p.m., only to discover that it had not been one of his wife's better days.
• Letter From Summer Camp  (July 29, 2008)
  Dear Mom, Scoutmaster Webb told us to write our parents in case you heard about the flood and got worried.