Listen to “Rest In Peace Mrs. Perkins” by Fred Smith Mrs. Perkins stepped out from her pew and walked down the aisle of our Baptist church to rededicate her life on a regular basis – almost monthly. It was a mystery to those of us who knew her to be one of the kindest and godliest people in the congregation. Sunday School teacher, model wife and mother, and a light in our ...[Read More]
Rest In Peace Mrs. Perkins
Bearing Witness
Listen to “Bearing Witness” by Fred Smith The first time I read the phrase “bearing witness” was in Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” recounting the horrors of the Holocaust and the responsibility he felt never to forget or allow others to dismiss what happened there. Over the years, the phrase has come to mean more. We bear witness by standing up for something in danger of being overl ...[Read More]
Mama's Boy
Listen to “Mama’s Boy” by Fred Smith If you visit Elk Lake, Minnesota and the headwaters of the Mississippi, you will see a stream that is about 20 feet across and 2 feet deep. Sometimes it is so obscured by reeds that people lose sight of the stream altogether. But if you keep going for 2,300 miles you will end up in New Orleans where the Mississippi is 200 feet deep and ...[Read More]
The Widow's Great Treasure
Listen to “The Widow’s Great Treasure” by Fred Smith For years I have treated the story of the widow’s mite as an illustration of sacrificial giving. So remarkable is the exorbitance of her gift that even Jesus is astonished and calls his disciples over to see what she has done. “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together ...[Read More]
White Noise
Listen to “White Noise” by Fred Smith The last time I watched a movie about whales was…never. I did buy a Judy Collins album years ago titled, “Whales and Nightingales” that featured a duet of whales singing with Judy in a beautiful piece, “Farewell to Tarwathie.” It was haunting, but I had not thought about it in years until speaking last week for a small conference attached to ...[Read More]