Learning
Growth
Unity
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.
Hey, God, Are You Here?
Claudia and I have been on a bit of a holiday.
As I write this we are far from home. It is just getting light, and I’m sitting at a worn oak table beside a window looking out on rolling French fields of mowed corn, harvested vineyards, nut orchards and woodlots. The November slate-gray skies and soaking rain make staying in today…inviting. And there’s close to nothing on the agenda.
Alzheimer's – My Perspective: A Continuing Conversation
This is a continuing conversation that Dorene and I have agreed to share with our church family. If you have not read the first installment, Dorene’s blog of 9/25/25, “How Are You?...I don’t Know…But…,” it can be found on the church blog, “The Forge,” scroll down to 9/25/25, and read it. It is her thoughts as she progresses through this disease. You will also meet the new guests at our house, “Alzyee and Arthur.”
Wilderness Days
Poet Jan Richardson writes these lines.
I am not asking you to take this wilderness from me, to remove this place of darkness where I come to know the wildness in me.
But send me tough angels, sweet wine, strong bread: just enough.
What Are Your Markers of Success?
Back in the olden days, there were paper calendars with pretty pictures that hung on our kitchen walls. The one on display in our home tracked our crazy, busy schedule with two children. Looking at that calendar with all its crammed-full squares gave me a sense of worth. How skewed was that?!
Where it Happened: Nine Resurrection Sites in the Bible
At the end of this month, my mom and dad are heading to the holy land without me. Like a puppy looking out the window when his family leaves the house, I am left behind only to dream of the wonderful places they are visiting. Pouring over maps, paying close attention to the names of places in the Bible, I imagine the sights, sounds and smells of the land full of milk and honey.
Ambushed in the Morning
So, there I was, sitting in my reading chair early in the morning, tending to my knitting. My bible was open to Luke 6, cruising along, and suddenly I got ambushed by Jesus’ words from the Message translation.
Why are you so polite with me, always saying “Yes, sir,” and “That’s right, sir,” but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.