During his 45-year career as a composer, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 722 symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Even more amazing? Many of those compositions were written after Beethoven had lost his hearing. When Beethoven first noticed his hearing loss, he was devastated. Without the ability to hear the music he made, his life felt meaningless. He…
Rob was clearly dejected, so his buddy Ken asked what was wrong. Rob explained, “Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me $50,000. Two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew died and left me $100,000. And last week, my grandfather died and left me a half a million dollars.” Ken asked, “So why…
For over 30 years, an acoustic ecologist (yes, that’s a thing) named Gordon Hempton has been compiling what he calls “The List of the Last Great Quiet Places.” It consists of places with at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted quiet during daylight hours. At last count there were only 12 quiet places in the entire…
For 35 years, Robert Ballard committed his life to finding the Titanic. On September 1, 1985, he completed his mission. Since its sinking in 1857, the SS Central America was the object of hundreds of searches, until the shipwreck was finally discovered in 2014, with coins valued over $100 million. In 1953, Jonas Salk discovered…
Malcolm Muggeridge offered an example of deep reflection when he wrote A Twentieth-Century Testimony. Among his most profound statements: “When I look back on my life nowadays, which I sometimes do, what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at the time most significant and seductive, seems now most futile and absurd.”…
Not so long ago . . . An application was for employment. A program was a show on TV. A cursor used profanity. A keyboard was a piano. A mouse was a critter. Memory was what you lost with old age. A CD was a bank account. Log on meant adding wood to the fire.…
A Stanford professor, Dr. William Fry, studied kindergarteners and adults. He found two differences. Children in kindergarten laugh 300 times a day, compared to adults, who laugh just 17 times a day. Children ask 125 questions per day, while adults ask just six. Jesus asked more questions than he answered. He was asked 183 questions…
The Bible says, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). But how do you know if your dream is from God? There are two ways. First, a…
There is no substitute for reading books. Ivan Pavlow said, “If you want a new idea, read an old book.” And C.S. Lewis mused, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” The Bible weighs in: “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman…
When Grandpa Jones celebrated his 100th birthday and 75th wedding anniversary simultaneously, his friends were impressed. “What is the key to your longevity?” they asked him. Grandpa Jones: “Long walks in the outdoors.” His friends asked what led him to spend so much time walking outside. Grandpa Jones: “When we got married 75 years ago,…