On a visit to Ireland I was overwhelmed by the abundance of decorative shamrocks The little green three-leafed plant could be found in every store on seemingly everything mdash clothing hats jewelry and more More than just a prolific plant across Ireland the shamrock was embraced for generations as a simple way to explain the Trinity the historic Christian belief that God is One essence who eternally exists in three distinct persons God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit While all human explanations of the Trinity are inadequate the shamrock is a helpful symbol because it [... more]

ldquo Taps rdquo is a trumpet call played by the US military at the end of the day as well as at funerals I was amazed when I read the unofficial lyrics and discovered that many of the verses end with the phrase ldquo God is nigh rdquo God is near Both before the dark of each night settles in or while mourning the loss of a loved one the lyrics offer soldiers the beautiful assurance that God is near In the Old Testament sounding trumpets was also a reminder to the Israelites that God was near In the middle [... more]