Braille Gives Literacy, Independence, Access

by Megan Dausch Helen Keller Services    The Louis Braille Museum in Coupvray, France, smelled like history—aged wood, old paper, and the faint mustiness of time. It was a small house, but it held the weight of a remarkable legacy.     I remember running my fingers over the dominoes Louis Braille played with as a …

Boy Goes Blind Because Of Junk-Food Diet

by Kevin Burton     An 8-year-old Malaysian boy found out the hard way, the importance of a healthy diet.    According to multiple reports, the boy went blind suddenly one day while sitting in school. The boy was said to have had a diet consisting of only chicken nuggets, sausages and cookies, iHeart reported.    …

Catsongs: Music And Cats, Memories And Love

by Kevin Burton    Had I had the mind to write this while she was still alive, my late sister Pat would have loved this series.     It has been more than five months since she died, and reading that “late sister Pat” line above is still jarring and surreal. This is visceral.    Nothing …

Forget Self-Help, Seek God’s Heart Surgery

by Dane Massey    (Dane Massey is the former Pastor of Mulvane Christian Church. He is now in ministry in Houston, Texas.)       Spent this week thinking about the personal words that describe the Gospel.  Words that describe what happens inwardly when one enters into the Gospel of Christ, the power of God unto …

Words For Cats’ Eyes, Bad Hair, Plenty More

by Kevin Burton    Merriam-Webster dictionary took to social media to ask readers to identify some of their favorite underrated words. Yesterday we posted some of these words and today we finish their list.    This may be the weirdest list I’ve ever posted. Some of these words don’t strike me as particularly useful. Others …

Panning For Gold In The Discount Word Bin

by Kevin Burton    I missed it and didn’t get to participate, but Merriam-Webster had a notice on social media inviting readers to vote for their favorite underused words.    The dictionary published the results under the headline “12 Underrated Words That Deserve More Love.” I don’t agree with all the choices, but there was …

Where Ya From? What’s Your Demonym?

by Kevin Burton    People from Wichita, the nearest large city to me, are called Wichitans.  That’s straightforward enough.    People from Puebla, Mexico, a city very near to my heart, are called Poblanos. Why not Pueblanos?  Not sure, good question.    Wichitan and Poblano are demonyms. The word demonym is “Rooted in the Greek …

Web MD: Slow Down, You Eat Too Fast

by Kevin Burton     Our cat Ronnie is “food-motivated.”  The manager of Save The Kitties in Derby said so and she wasn’t lying.    Ronnie was obviously supplied with people food in large quantity by her previous owners because she clung to our feet when we opened the refrigerator. She knew exactly what the apparatus …

Weighing Philippians 1:21 “To Live Is Christ”

by Kevin Burton    When people think of you, what comes first to their mind? Or asked another way, what should  go into the first paragraph of your obituary?    I’m asking these questions today in the context of devotion to Christ, and Phil. 1:21 where the Apostle Paul writes “For to me to live …

The Blind At Work: Two Stories, Two Traumas

by Kevin Burton    Just a sampling today, as you carry on with life, of what blind people face every day when they dare go into the workforce.    Our first look is in New Jersey, the second, across the Atlantic in Wales.    I could string all the news like this into a blog …