Nathan E. Lewis

Undoubtedly I am coming lately to Free Rice. Go to this website, take the vocabulary tests, a fun game, and for each correct answer, you will not only build your vocabulary but you will also donate 20 grains of free rice towards feeding the hungry people of the world. The website makes money through sponsors advertising, enough to keep up with the millions of grains of rice earned by the players. Personally, I am not satisfied with my English vocabulary and so I am looking for ways to increase my word power and skills. This site is helpful (not as helpful as reading good literature) but nevertheless, helpful. To make matters better, I can also donate rice toward eradicating the world of malnutrition. All of this occurs without me laying out any money and through my small investment of time, whatever time I decide to dedicate to the increase of my vocabulary.

Click on the Photo to view nine families around the world complete with a listing of what they eat in a week and how much it costs them. When I was a child our family sang the following prayer at the dinner table: “For health and strength and daily food we give you thanks, O Lord.” With rising food costs at home and around the world, I am grateful for the food God has provided. Perhaps 2008 is a perfect opportunity for us to rethink how much we eat; what we eat; and the amount we are willing to pay for what we eat. Are any of you readers willing to tell us what you/your family spends on groceries in one week? Perhaps you don’t know. If you don’t know, then I would encourage you to keep record.

Faith is a well-used word in our culture and it has a range of meaning. In some contexts we closely connect it to the verb “to believe,” referring to firmly held convictions. Within this group of references we describe our spirituality, religion, morality and philosophy. But we also closely connect faith to a general positivism. We might use faith to describe our inner hope or emotion supporting a future reality desired by us. Most Christians go looking in the Bible for definitions of words like faith and such a search usually ends in a tangled confusion. Meaning in the Bible, like any literature, is determined by context and always presents a range of meaning. Continue reading »

Perhaps you have discovered by reading my blog, “Living the Gospel,” that I believe that there is a connection (more than a lexical connection) between grace and graciousness. There is an inherent connection between living the gospel and speaking graciously. The connection is explained largely between our understanding and mapping common grace and special grace, both works of God. As we all walk together into the dawn of a new era, let us hear the echoes of two gracious speeches delivered the night of November 4, 2008.
I must admit up front that Senator John McCain’s tone and pitch of voice irritates me, not to mention his constant use of “My friends.” But I say all the more strongly with all my heart behind it, that John McCain is a most gracious man. Did you listen to his concession speech? Here it is for you to hear and see. Continue reading »