On this day in history: In 1783, the first successful flight was made in a hot air balloon. The pilots, Francois Pilatre de Rosier and Francois Laurent, Marquis d’Arlandes, flew for 25 minutes and 5½ miles over Paris. In 1871, M. F. Galethe patented the cigar lighter. And in 1877, Thomas A. Edison announced the invention of his phonograph.

Three Coffee Podcasts You Need In Your Life – If you listen to podcasts, then you need to listen to these. The first on the list will give some great input in using your Chemex, or Hario V60, or even an Aeropress.

The Parker Vacumatic – If you know me, you know that I love vintage fountain pens, and in particular, vintage Parker Vacumatics. This article on The Pen Addict sums up the Parker Vac nicely.

Terraforming: A New Life With Plants Inhaled Into Marble And Concrete – This is simply beautiful!

The Secret Anti-Counterfeit Symbol – Did you know that there is a feature to legal currency that makes it impossible to copy it on a photocopier? After watching this, I had to try. It’s true. The video will explain it all.

Today In Church History
On November 21, 1620, the Pilgrims drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact. For the next fifty years, the Mayflower Compact served the Pilgrims well, and it became an important precedent for the idea of a written American Constitution at the Convention of 1787. Read more about it here.

How To Handle Difficult People – I often say that ministry would be much easier if I didn’t have to deal with people. While that is mostly in jest, there is an element of truth to it because some people can be difficult to deal with. This is a great article with advice about such people.

Our Impatient World Needs Our Patience – Great thoughts here for a culture obsessed with instant gratification.

21 Thoughts On Preaching – If you preach on a consistent basis, then you may find some nuggets here that will help you out.