Learning
Growth
Unity
So What Am I To Do?
Seems like Jesus was constantly getting under the skin of the religious crowd of his day. He didn’t just upset the apple cart, he gave away the apples. But I have to feel that we lose some of the impact of the conflicts simply due to not living in those times.
Creating Something from Bones
I’ve boiled chicken and turkey bones for soup broth. I’ve thrown ham bones in with the pinto beans to make delicious pots of bean soup. But I’ve never pondered how I was creating something from what normal people would consider to be garbage. Bones.
Why This? Why Me? Why Now?
Last Thursday night Claudia and I went to the Tower Theater and were in the audience for Garrison Keillor. He was in town for one night and the joint was full…of geezers who remember A Prairie Home Companion on public radio every Saturday afternoon.
How to Walk Through Grief with a Friend
A friend lost her daughter unexpectedly. I’d read once that it was good for the bereaved to talk about their loss, and that we—their people—could encourage them by asking questions.
Windshield Thinking
Back a few years, I had surgery for the “man cancer” so many guys get. After they yanked out the offending lower unit and a short stay in the most expensive bad hotel in town, a good friend gave me a ride home while Claudia was out of town helping our daughter who needed her mom.
Cry Out, Burned Out, Helped Out
The holidays and winter season are especially hard for us who’ve been through dark times and dark places. Memories become fresh again as we recount the pain that’s still there.
Consider our friends: a husband and wife of three boys like Robin and me who still grieve the death of their middle son by suicide earlier this year, leaving behind a wife and three children.
Be the One
Being a routine guy, most of my mornings follow a predictable pattern. I take lots of stuff for granted, and any given morning can stand as an example.
I roll out of bed to a warm house
First stop is the bathroom where a toilet flushes and sink water runs to rinse my face
The Problem With Puppies
Each week one of our local news outlets has a humane society pet segment to show some of the animals waiting for adoption. My favorite is when they bring in two or three puppies and try to corral them on the desk.
A Christmas Epiphany
“Bah, humbug!” my heart murmured, as wreaths, lights and trees began to invade my spaces this winter. Christmas sights and sounds felt artificial this year, as if men were trying to make snowballs out of dust. With no snow in the long-term forecast, this winter felt gloomier than previous years. What would it take to resuscitate my dry, dusty heart this Christmas season?
Who Is He?
This is the time of year when merchants display many tempting “gifts” for the season, when lights twinkle from house tops, and families plan festivities made merry with bottles of spirits. Amid the Christmas scenes adorning church and mall are seen reindeer, elves, candy cane and snowflakes. Way in the back of a few Christmas scenes one can pick out a nativity scene, with a baby lying in a cradle.
When the Light Comes
Part of most churches at Christmas is the lighting of Advent candles. They are on the bus loaded with all the elements we recognize: Nativity sets, wreaths, carols, trimmed trees, stockings, presents. Tradition sees the Advent candles as representing the four weeks prior to Christmas and our preparation time for Jesus’ arrival. Each week has a theme: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.
You Have Memories Worth Remembering
“So,” I said to my husband Dan. “About Thanksgiving and Christmas … what are we going to do?” It was our first winter holiday season as newlyweds. And it was the year of COVID.
My favorite time of the year has always been from November through December. Except …
Hello Darkness
Advent began two Sundays ago. Each of the four weeks holds a theme: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. As believers prepare for the coming of the Christ child, these ideas stand as part of the anticipation for when God himself will move into the neighborhood.
Word of God Speak: What the Bible Says about Itself
Christians believe our God speaks. He has spoken in the creation (Ps.19:1; Rom. 1:19-20). He speaks in our consciences (Rom.2:14-15). He has spoken supremely in his Son Jesus (Jn.1:1,14; Heb.1:1-3).
What about the Bible?
Living a Pick-Up-Sticks Life
Anne Lamott’s writing comes across as consistently delightful to read. Her style is personal and unvarnished in truth-telling and question-asking. Hers has been a life filled with plenty of trauma and triumph, possibly like yours.
Help!
The women from my church called to see if they could bring meals while my first husband was actively dying in the hospital bed in our living room.
“That’s so kind of you,” I replied. “Thank you, but it’s just our daughter and me, and we don’t eat much.”
It's the Little Things
One year while teaching at Bend High, 147 years ago, I decided to ride my recumbent bike to school every day. We then lived out east of town, some six miles from BHS and the commute had its wonders, like spring smells of fresh growth, or mist rising off mowed hay fields, or stunning alpenglow mornings where I stopped and just marveled at how the mountains gleamed before sunup came to the lands below.
Older than I Was, but Not Yet Old
Friday date night began mid-morning with a hike along Wychus Creek. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love date nights that start in the morning?!)
After following the noisy little stream, the trail veers upward over boulders where the path isn’t always obvious. (I may or may not have led us off the main route to a drop-off once.)
Keep Your Shenanigans to a Minimum
Don’t tell anyone, but I like to drive outside the lines. It’s just to remind myself who’s in charge. I’m not going to let some bureaucrat at the department of transportation tell me what to do! Pretty rebellious, I know, but some of you go even further with your “off-roading”. You know who you are!
Just One Word
The other day I ran across a question while reading that made me stop and ponder. Simple, yet profound. Transparent, yet complex.
“If you had to use a single word to describe Jesus in his life and ministry, what might it be?”
Think of all the possibilities: Wise, loving, compassionate, focused, bold, and many others might come to mind. The article said that when posed that question, Dallas Willard, the USC prof and prolific writer, often on spiritual formation, immediately responded with…relaxed.