Reviewed by Peter DeHaan The Devil’s Arithmetic, based on a book by the same name, focuses on narcissist American teenager, Hanna Stern (Kirsten Dunst). Although Hanna dismisses her Jewish heritage, she is compelled to attend her family’s Seder celebration. In the midst of her reluctant participation, she is translated to Nazi occupied Poland, circa 1941. […]
I have long maintained—and increasingly so—that my body does not comply with the “normal” 24-hour sleep cycle. Among the random press releases, I received today is confirmation that sleep cycle deviations can occur and that one enzyme may be the central culprit. Although I find this only semi-comprehensible, I nonetheless find it interesting: Central Gears […]
After my Friday blog about our local drought, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The light mist that evening resulted in two-tenths of an inch of rain overnight, which was quite substantial given the scant precipitation the prior six weeks. However, Saturday morning brought a deluge of another 1.6 inches in a couple of […]
In the last six weeks, we’ve only received about three-quarters of an inch of rain. That is about one-tenth of what we would normally enjoy this time of year. The crops are suffering and the lawns don’t look so good either. That means I’ve been doing a lot of sprinkling, dragging hoses around my yard on […]
Two weeks ago, we (my bride and I) helped children Dan and Kelli move from their apartment to their house. They moved a couple carloads the night before and I rented a truck, first to move their items from our house and then to move the furniture from their apartment. Kelli’s family brought a truckload […]
Reviewed by Peter DeHaan In Genesis with Max McLean, which was recorded live, Max McLean gives a dramatic recitation of the first 35 chapters of the book of Genesis from the Bible. As the quintessential storyteller, Max powerfully delivers with passion, expressiveness, and occasional humor. All the while, he faithfully follows the text as presented […]
We’ve had an influx of mole activity in recent days. Perhaps the dry weather has something to do with it. I wouldn’t mind if not for the mounds of dirt they make throughout the lawn. Over the years, I’ve tried various means of “encouraging” them to go elsewhere—such as to my neighbors’ yard. One such recommendation was to […]
Over the past month, its been quite dry here, during which time we have accumulated less than a half of inch of rain. As such, I have been spending more time than usual watering my lawn, dragging hoses around every hour or so in an effort to keep in green. An interesting side effect of […]
In ancient times, names were given to people for a reason, no matter how trivial. The meaning of the names of Jacob’s twelve sons gives great insight into the competitive struggle between his two wives, the sisters, Leah and Rachel: Reuben means “See, a son!” (Leah said, “The Lord has seen my humiliation and affliction; […]
So, we know that Jacob’s twelve sons had four mothers: Leah was the spurned wife; Rachel was the favorite wife; Bilhah was Rachel’s maid and Zilpah was Leah’s maid. Here is their birth order and how it all breaks down: 1. Reuben, his mom was Leah2. Simeon, his mom was Leah3. Levi, his mom was Leah4. Judah, […]