by Charles Gumm | Apr 23, 2022 | Uncategorized
Easter Sunday is always so positive! The hymns are upbeat. The church is beautiful. Everyone greets each other with, “He is risen!” To which we reply, “He is risen indeed!” Wouldn’t it be great if every Sunday was like that? Now that is a good question. An even better...
by Charles Gumm | Apr 16, 2022 | Uncategorized
With some things in life, it all comes down to the very simple statement, “It either happened or it didn’t.” Whichever it may be, things become clear based on what actually took place. There is no more relevant example of this than with the resurrection of Jesus...
by Charles Gumm | Apr 9, 2022 | Uncategorized
It all began that Sunday afternoon almost comically. Thousands of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly Passover festival jumping, shouting, waving palm branches all because an itinerant preacher from Galilee was making his way into Jerusalem on a...
by Charles Gumm | Apr 2, 2022 | Uncategorized
You have to be older to appreciate the joys of Jell-O. When it first came out, Jell-o was absolutely captivating. Not so much for the taste, but for its color and moldability. The bright reds, yellows and greens of Jell-O could make even the drabbest dinner of meat...
by Charles Gumm | Mar 26, 2022 | Uncategorized
Have you wondered how you would react if you were put in a crisis situation in which you had to make a decision that forced you to choose between doing what was right and doing what was best for you? We all hope we would do that which is good and noble, but fear makes...
by Charles Gumm | Mar 18, 2022 | Uncategorized
“At the end of the day, you either believe or you don’t.” The statement above is spectacularly offensive to proud human ears. Who dares tell us to “just believe, take their word for it”? We are intelligent. We’re educated. We live in the 21st century and have a...
by Charles Gumm | Mar 11, 2022 | Uncategorized
After defeating highly favored Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing title, Muhammad Ali declared that he was “The Greatest”. For many years afterward Ali demonstrated greatness in the ring. Some people call him the greatest boxer who ever lived. For most, a great...
by Charles Gumm | Mar 5, 2022 | Uncategorized
Michael Henchard, the main character of Thomas Hardy’s novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge, had a considerable number of good qualities. Tragically, his rash outbursts of anger caused him to make disastrous decisions which obscured the positive in him. Near the end of...
by Charles Gumm | Feb 26, 2022 | Uncategorized
“I told you last week. How could you forget?” “You did? I don’t remember.” “It was Tuesday after dinner. You were sitting right here. I told you. You nodded your head and said, ‘Got it.’ How could you forget?” That’s a common conversation not only for married couples...
by Charles Gumm | Feb 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
“Different” is not a label most of us would like to have. We don’t want to stand out in a crowd, having people gape at us, wondering what in the world would make us act in such a weird way. One of the most courageously spectacular examples of being different took...
