By Jim Nichols Every school day began in the same predictable manner. Mrs. Scanlin got everyone’s attention and began singing as we all joined in. The chorus of the song from the musical Oklahoma included:  “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’,Oh, what a beautiful day.I got a beautiful feelin’Ev’erything’s goin’ my way.” We sang with full voice multiple verses and the

By Jim Nichols The thesis of this set of comments is that each of us can do certain things, but we seldom do them perfectly. Even more alarming as we age is that things we used to be able to do earlier in life have now become difficult if not impossible. If this distresses you, you and I are thinking

By Jim Nichols Do you get tired of having to make choices? We do not want our life to be completely determined for us, but having to choose everything wears us out. At Hogwarts Academy, at least one major decision was made for the students. You will remember there was a Sorting Hat that identified which one of the four

By Jim Nichols Art forms can expose us to truths in unexpected ways; sometimes they can expose truths about God. DaVinci’s Last Supper stimulates understandings about Jesus and the disciples in a way that other formats miss.  Music is one of the powerful carriers of insights into God. Occasionally, words and notes form an amazing parallel to the Bible itself.

By Jim Nichols Silence is a word that demands an opposite. We each understand what is meant by silence, but we would probably define it as the absence of something. We speak about silence “being broken” by noise, by a racket, by music, by applause, by clamor. Some of the methods of breaking the silence are gentler while others are

By Jim Nichols We have two small children in our extended family right now; one is four years old and the other is two. They learn amazing things quickly and are generally delightful, though sometimes challenging. Hearing them learn language is one of the most fascinating aspects of their growth. Particularly right now, the four-year-old shows some surprising early maturity

By Jim Nichols Every conversation does not need to be an argument.  I observed two individuals yesterday in a discussion that went in an unnecessary direction. They apparently knew each other and ended up in the same place at the same time physically. Person A clearly asked Person B for an opinion on a topic. Person B’s response elicited disagreement

By Jim Nichols It is a maneuver used often by younger students in a religious situation. The teacher requires each child to memorize a verse from the Bible and recite it for everyone. As you might guess, each child gravitates toward a short and simple verse. They already learned from older children that “Jesus wept” will be acceptable, though not

By Jim Nichols It is probably asking too much routinely of a television newscast, but the other night a single sentence had some weight. The story concerned a criminal activity in another state; it was a serious situation in action and consequences. In the report, an attorney for one of the accused said, “He’s only eighteen; he had no idea