I am partial to the Book of Job in the Old Testament. Although filled with many themes and interpreted many ways through the centuries, I find it simple and direct: despite all the misfortunes that Job experiences, he never loses faith – although, at times, he struggles to maintain it. It is a lesson for …
Category Archives: Body
The Armor for Old Age
Mrs. tVM has traveled for nearly three weeks in September. She returns this evening. In her absence, Clarence and I have kept our minds, bodies, and spirits active. Still, as another year on Earth comes to an end, one wonders how many are left. I thought about that this morning, and as I did, I remembered …
Do Not Be Afraid
“The Lord is my shepherd… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff give me strength, comfort, and courage… “ If Leonard Cohen is right – and I believe he is – this is the secret chord …
“Lemon, Honey!”
Many years ago, Mrs. tVM read an article praising the health benefits of drinking tea made from lemons and honey. For at least five years, I have made it a habit to make this tasty concoction and drink a cup daily, most often immediately following my morning bike ride. Lemons are fortified with Vitamin C …
Lessons from Grackle
We have many birds in our neighborhood and one of the most popular is the Great-tailed Grackle. Like all birds, they rise exactly 30 minutes prior to sunrise, and I hear them throughout the day and see them on the adobe walls in my backyard. Last week, Mrs. tVM saw a nest in our neighbor’s …
Prayers and Vitamins
Prayers are like vitamins and vitamins are like prayers. I vaguely remember taking One-A-Day vitamins as a child. You had to swallow them quickly and were in for a nasty surprise if you inadvertently bit into the small pill before you swallowed it. I clearly remember saying prayers every night as a child kneeling next …
The Third Fall
There is no disgrace in failure. It is okay to fail, and it is good to recall your failures because when you do, you will remember the times you dropped to your knees and then found the strength and courage to stand back up. I believe that Jesus is the word incarnate. He lived for …
Orangemen
There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Men’s Basketball Team. Growing up in basketball-crazed Massachusetts during the Red Auerbach, Bill Russell and John Havlicek days of the Boston Celtics, I followed Jim Boeheim and Dave Bing during their playing years at Syracuse, and I returned to …
The Continuing Case for Exercise
The ‘Well-Being’ post from last week was foremost in my mind as Mrs. tVM and I hiked up the Casa Grande Mountain Radio Tower Trail his morning. A mere 2-mile out-and-back hike, we stopped to catch our breath more than once. You see, over the 1-mile hike to the summit, one climbs 994 feet. That …
Walking with Thoreau
From Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking” published in The Atlantic Monthly, June 1862. “I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of walking, that is, of taking walks…” “He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of …