During our recent trip to Sicily, we spent a day visiting three beautiful towns: Noto, Ragusa, and Modica. Each had magnificent Baroque churches, ornate facades, towering columns, and beautifully decorated interiors. After visiting so many churches throughout Sicily, I wondered what made these three towns so special. I soon discovered that they shared something remarkable. … Continue reading When the Earth Shakes, Will You? (2 Corinthians 4:8–9)

We had not even boarded our flight to Sicily when our son had a seizure. We were sitting in the airport lounge. He had three previously documented episodes and had recently been diagnosed with a focal seizure disorder. He had been taking medication for about a month, but neither my wife nor I had ever … Continue reading Letting My Guard Down (Deuteronomy 8:10–11)

Of all the places we planned to visit during our vacation in Sicily, Syracuse was where we would spend the most time. Five days! We wanted to make the most of our stay, so before leaving home, we spent hours researching restaurants, museums, churches, historical sites, and nearby towns. We read reviews, studied maps, and … Continue reading Three Days or Five Days? (Ephesians 5:15–16)

When the bikini was introduced in Paris in 1946, it caused quite a scandal! French designer Louis Réard couldn’t even find a professional fashion model willing to wear his revealing new swimsuit. He finally recruited a dancer, Micheline Bernardini, to model it. The bikini was considered so outrageous that it was banned from some European … Continue reading Women Wore Bikinis 1,700 Years Ago? (Ecclesiastes 1:9)