South Mountain was my favorite childhood haunt. My father didn’t know scientific names for flowers and trees. Nomenclature wasn’t necessary to appreciate the beauty. Creeping among the limestone rocks was the trailing arbutus. Finding this treasure was easy. Just follow the sweet aroma. My father said it was unlawful to pick arbutus. On South Mountain arbutus covered the ground like…
Author: Larry Yeagley
Be Someone’s Bible . . .
Walter was tired of sermons that didn’t seem to change anything. He happened to read an arresting statement. We may be the only Bible that many people read. He thought about the homeless man who had coffee every morning at his place of work. He walked past Jim every day without uttering a word. Maybe he could change his world…
What is Love?
The word love is used to describe how we feel about many things. We love favorite foods, pets, cars, clothes or even kitchen appliances. John 3:16 says that God loves us. His love is given to us as a gift. I learned a deeper love over my 40 years working in hospitals and hospices. A young couple married after three…
Are You Truly Alive?
Imagine living for 900 years. Could you fill those years with purpose? Would others be glad for your longevity? Would boredom set in? Old Methuselah held death at bay for 969! That’s a whale of a lot of living. Do you think he ever had a death wish? Did he get weary of the ups and downs of life? Some…
Christmas at Peach Bottom
It was late October when fire reduced our barn to a heap of ashes. The landlord came from Bethesda, Maryland to tell my father that insurance did not cover his property. Only the 30 milk cows survived the flames. A temporary milking system was installed in a large shed, but hay and grain were destroyed in the inferno. Providentially a Nazarene…
Sittin’ Up With
A weekend seminar on death and dying ended and I was on my way to the airport. When I told the taxi driver where I had been he said, “I’m not afraid of dying. Here in the south land we have a custom we call sittin’ up with. When a person is dyin’ friends and family take turns sittin’ by…
We Would See Jesus
Church doctrine is like a California desert unless saturated by the love of Jesus. I grew up in a Pennsylvania church that gasped to stay alive. Twice a year a roving evangelist rented the Odd Fellows hall and preached the truth for three weeks. The meetings ended without any decisions. The little church kept struggling. Reason? Jesus was not shown…
A Life With Purpose
Physicians and dentists attended a conference in British Columbia. Their meeting room was abuzz with professional lingo. Everyone was engaged except a 25-year-old table waiter. He stood at the edge of the room with a soapy cloth in his hand. As soon as a table was vacated he cleaned it in preparation for the next meal. Since I was a…
The Value of a Dream
Edward lingered at the edge of the food tent. His classmates were celebrating their graduation from high school. Chatter and laughter filled the tent, but Edward was not engaged in the merriment. I sought him out. So, what are your plans now that high school is behind you? I listened for a half hour while Edward shared his knowledge about…
The Wonderfully Simple Gospel
In Matthew chapter 23 Jesus takes on the religious hucksters of His day. They were packaging their religion in a bundle of rules and loading people down like so many pack animals. (See The Message by Peterson) Jesus met their false religion by inviting people to take His easy yoke and enjoy His peace. He summarized true religion as feeding…