I remember an animated discussion with my high school freshman English teacher over the word awful. I insisted on using awe-full to describe something so exalted as to arouse reverence. She preferred that I stick with the word's common spelling and its usage to designate something dreadful.

We should have looked in the dictionary. My old Webster's lists as its first definition "inspiring awe; highly ...

We live in a fast-paced culture, but some things just ought to happen slowly.

The book Final Salute tells the story of Major Steve Beck, a U.S. Marine whose heart-wrenching task is to inform the nearest of kin when a Marine is killed in Iraq. Beck doesn't just break the sad news and then leave; for several days he may help the family through the process of the funeral. That includes supervising the ...

To live in fear of God means that we live before God and the rest of reality in such a way that there is never contempt within us. We take nothing for granted, everything as a gift. We have respect. We are always poised for surprise before the mystery of God, others, and ourselves.

All boredom and contempt is an infallible sign that we have fallen out of a healthy fear of God.

—Ronald Rolheiser, ...

A few summers ago, we took a family vacation to Toronto. We'd never been there, and we didn't know what to see, but all the guidebooks said, "You have to go up the CN Tower, the world's tallest building and free-standing structure."

I didn't think that was a good idea, because I have a great fear of heights. Just the thought of being 1,815 feet above the ground made me queasy. But the kids said, "Aww, ...

Meet the Parents is a movie about a man's first visit to the home of his fiancée's parents. In this scene, Greg (played by Ben Stiller) demonstrates the awkwardness many Christians feel in regards to prayer.

The family is gathered around the table, and Greg's future mother-in-law, Deena, enters with the last bits of food, saying, "Get your hot buns and potatoes!"

Greg says: "Wow, Deena, everything ...

Have you ever received an apology that seemed insincere? The following are some very public examples:

"It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Ledger neglected to cover the civil-rights movement. We regret the omission" (July 4, 2004). —The Herald-Ledger of Lexington, Kentucky, apologizing for the 40-year-old policies of the paper to relegate the coverage of sit-ins, marches, and ...

In 1717, King Louis XIV of France died. Preferring to be called "Louis the Great," he was the monarch who declared, "I am the State!" His court was the most magnificent in Europe, and his funeral was the most spectacular.

In the church where the ceremony was performed, his body lay in a golden coffin. To dramatize his greatness, orders had been given that the cathedral would be very dimly lit with ...

In the comedy Christmas Vacation, Chevy Chase plays the part of the goofy dad, Clark Griswald. In this scene, Clark and his extended family are gathered around the table for a holiday feast. Red and green Christmas decorations adorn the dining table, and everyone is dressed in festive holiday attire. Clark stands at one end of the table smiling and carving a golden brown turkey. Clark looks as if ...

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the winter blockbuster Lord of the Rings, confesses,"Whenever I stay at a hotel, I always check to see if they have a Gideon Bible, and if they do I tear out a page," says the openly gay actor. "I turn to Leviticus 18:22 and rip out that page, which is directed against homosexuals…. I think by now I must have ripped out a few hundred."

His motives, McKellen ...

A circus parade was moving gaily through the streets of Milan, Italy. Suddenly one of the elephants veered from the line and marched into a church. [In Milan, church doors are large, and in the summer are often wide open.] This visitor wandered up the center aisle, trumpeted a bit, swung her trunk around and headed back to the parade.

Unfortunately, many humans seem to imitate this pious pachyderm. ...