Insight By Seymour

As I was channel surfing the other day, I paused for a moment and thought about a man who had fixed a problem for me. His name wasn’t Marcus Lemonis; it was A.P. Lindsey, and he was The Fixer decades before Marcus was born. When Mr. Lindsey returned to El Dorado, Kansas after his stint in the Navy during WWII, he worked for McClure’s Motor Company.  A few years later, he opened his own…

From my childhood days to the present, I’ve been captivated by the vibrant colors of a sunrise as well as the darkening of the horizon as day yields to sunset. This past Friday I settled into my blind to enjoy the sights and sounds of Mother Nature, and she rewarded me with the shuffling feet of a covey of quail on fallen leaves, the cawing of crows in a nearby corn field, and to an unsuspecting…

Some people describe Winter as “majestic,” others think of it as “miserable.” Recently I encountered a frozen winter wonderland, that was misery to the owner. The bushes had icicles hanging from the limbs and the parking lot was better suited for a bruising game of hockey than it was for a place to park your car. The ice covered sprinkler system had become a frigid fountain spraying ice pellets…

Resolved:  I will DO whatever I think will be most to God’s glory; and my own good, profit and pleasure, for as long as I live. I will do all these things without any consideration of the time they take.  Resolved: to do whatever I understand to be my duty and will provide the most good and benefit to mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I encounter, and no matter how…

Even though there has been the tragedy of terrorism in Turkey, a tragic accident at an air show, the trauma of another hurricane in Florida, and we have faced another tentative election cycle, it is Monday and God is still on His throne. Instead of focusing on the worries and woes of life, I choose to reflect on God’s love that’s expressed as His “benefits” in Psalm 103. On this Monday morning,…

As I was thumbing through one of my files, I found a quote from Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.  In September of 1999 Talk Magazine listed him as one of the 50 best speakers in the United States. During a lecture on the power and often negative impact of words, Rabbi Telushkin said:  “If you cannot go for 24 hours without drinking liquor, you are addicted to alcohol.  If you cannot go 24 hours without…

Still Missing Her grief parents

Seven years ago today, I walked into my mother’s rooms and said: Seven years ago today, I walked into my mother’s room and said: “Mom, today is your birthday.  Do you know how old you are?”  She thought for a moment and said: “No Stan, I don’t think I do.” “You’re 101,” I said.  My statement revived her spunky and independent spirit, and she informed me that, “I might not know how old I am, but I…

Success and failure are the topics of many discussions.  In the Proverbs, Solomon draws a contrast between the “God-loyal people” and the “wicked” and how they manage the difficult times they face: “Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; Soon they’re up on their feet, while the…

Forgiveness is Good Medicine

Of the 365 days on the calendar, three are more time oriented than the other 362. Two of them are associated with a specific hour in which the hours of clocks either spring forward or fall back 60 minutes. The third day is a festive occasion where people bid farewell to the year that was and celebrate the potential and promise of the year that will be. Every year is like each day—there is a…

giving thanks in all things

Each year when we draw near to the end of November, we anticipate Thanksgiving Day, and we often hear someone quote I Thessalonians 5:17: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” It’s easy to give thanks when you just landed that dream job, or you’ve been surprised by some unexpected blessing.  But, how do you give thanks when the dream becomes a…

Ferhoodlums Among Us: Speaking the Truth or Distorting the Facts

There’s a difference between blending for clarity and mixing things up for the purpose of confusion.  Ferhoodlum is a case in point.  Although you won’t find this word in the dictionary, you can find the two words I have blended to create it:

Ferhoodle: To confuse, tangle, or perplex

Hoodlum: a thug associated with crime or theft

A ferhoodlum is a person, who engages in the premeditated…

In an article in Christianity Today (October 2019), Gerald Sittser wrote about the early church and the Christians who embraced a new story. “The story of Jesus opened their eyes to see history not as a narrative of the empire’s achievements—and atrocities—but as a narrative of God’s redemptive work in the world, which often occurs in quiet and mysterious ways. For them, Bethlehem and Golgotha…

What Seeds Are You Sowing?

I’ve never heard the Apostle Paul described as a Master Gardener, but he was an authority on sowing and reaping, and He spoke about it in the 6th chapter of Galatians.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal…