Peace on Earth; Peace in Ukraine
Russia has invaded Ukraine. The post-Word War II security arrangements have been shattered. The world is at war, even if we do not yet recognize how. Yes, the fighting and dying are only with Russians and Ukrainians, at the moment. Whether or not people beyond those nations also will fight and die, as with all…
Read More Ben’s Christmas Visitor
The last day of school before Christmas always energized Westwood Elementary School, but particularly the third-graders. Not only did the day feature the customary pageants and parties, but it also heralded the finals of the Third Grade Spelling Challenge. Each class had competed throughout the month in spelling contests, with the top three spellers from…
Read More Pretty Woman
Over the weekend, we watched Pretty Woman again. The movie is one of many versions of Pygmalion and has become a classic. Julia Roberts won an Oscar nomination for best actress. We enjoyed it thoroughly again. When checking the movie’s reviews, I found that the critics were lukewarm about the film when the studio released…
Read More Superspreader
Merriam-Webster states the word “superspreader” first entered our lexicon in 1973. It defines the word as “an individual who is highly contagious and capable of transmitting a communicable disease to an unusually large number of uninfected individuals.” The word found rare use until COVID -19 arrived. COVID carried it into common use, and not favorably.…
Read More One Foot in the Kingdom
I have a passion for the Kingdom of God. Some might say it’s an obsession. It doesn’t take much to get me talking about it. So what is the Kingdom? “In the beginning God created…” What did he create? Everything! God’s sovereign will was in all he created. And what do we call the place…
Read More Kingdom Alignment: My Plans And Desires
Reading Time 3.5 Minutes “God bless my plan.” For a very long time I have said this mockingly as an example of exactly the type of prayer we should not pray. Living a Christian life requires us to surrender our lives to Christ, which means we live according to his plan and not ours. I…
Read More Getting the Message
The grocery seems to be a place where I find the Kingdom more easily. My most recent experience occurred a few days ago. As I entered the checkout line I saw that the young woman bagging the groceries had an almost rigid mask for her face. That was when I could see her face at…
Read More New Release Contributes to the Popular Appalachian Literature Genre
“Over the past couple of decades, Appalachian literature has developed a strong and close relationship with independent publishing, showing the latter to be an important medium for the expression for Appalachian voice,” writes Kristopher Clifford in a master’s thesis in 2007. A new release, Former Things Forgotten, by Thomas Trezise, published by the hybrid Redemption…
Read More Welcome, I'm Tom
I'm Tom Trezise a retired lawyer and corporate executive with over twenty years of experience as a Methodist lay preacher. Raised in Appalachia, I proudly call myself a hillbilly at heart. I'm the executive director of The Everyday Kingdom, a non-profit devoted to fostering a community that helps people find and experience the peace, purpose, and joy available from living every day in Christ’s kingdom.