Star-fish

     I recently returned to my hometown to enjoy a weekend with family. My cousins had organized a family reunion at a local park which had a river running through it. Coming from Arizona, where the temperatures are currently over 100 degrees, I enjoyed standing in the shade of the trees lining the river and listening to the babbling of the water as it tumbled over the boulders close to shore. Nothing could be more inviting then cool water, especially for this desert dweller. I could have stood there much longer, but I had family that I hadn't seen in years with whom to chat and catch up on their lives.      The Bible reminds us that Jesus is the living water and that all who are thirsty can come to him and be renewed. In Revelation 22:1-3, (the last book in the Bible), we hear about another river, "Then the angel showed me [John] the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [Jesus Christ] down the mid...

     Are you listening? I'm guilty of interrupting others when they are still talking. Usually, I'm excited about the conversation and can't wait to jump in and join it. But, that is not a good sign of a person adapt at listening. Lately, I've noticed people are too busy, bored, or just plain impatient to simply listen (present company included).       Since "to listen" is a verb, it indicates action on our parts. The action can be to listen for sound and identify it as in noises that seem to only occur at night, when we are in bed, and alone. You know those sounds, right? Of course, we can never seem to identify those sounds without investigating. Cue creepy music...       Another action of a listener is to comprehend or interpret the message of the one speaking. The example of the "Whisper Game" we used to play in Girl Scouts showed how listening could go awry. All the girls sat in a large circle and one person started the game by whisper...