I confess that sometimes I fall asleep while praying on my bed at night. I have often felt guilty of this, especially when I wonder how excited God is about my prayer, when I can’t even stay awake to complete it. On other occasions, I feel OK with it, since sometimes God responds to my…
I have a number of favorite quotes displayed around my office. A particular one relates well to birthdays, and since I had one last week, I re-read the quote. No one really knows who originally said or wrote it. The most oft quoted version was made by Hunter S. Thompson in his book “Hell’s Angels”…
It was surely one of my most embarrassing Christmas moments. It followed a gift of a Jingle Bell tie. Christmas Eve came on Saturday that year, so we had our family gift time that evening. My kids gave me a beautiful, if a bit gaudy, Christmas tie. It was black with green and red bells…
The medical procedures were not major, but were enough of a concern that I shared my anxiety with friends on social media. The three epidural injections were scheduled over a period of time and designed to relieve pain. I had opted to skip the pre-shot sedation. Sometimes, with no ill intent, “friends” increase the anxiety…
I was new on the Seminary faculty. He had been around awhile. I was honored that he and his wife invited my wife and I to their home for dinner. The meal was delicious and the fellowship around the table was even better. Then he said he wanted to show me something. Down the hall…
I attended a funeral at my home church last week – largest funeral I’ve seen there. All parking lots full thirty minutes before service, all seats on lower floor full fifteen minutes before service, standing room only in a 1000 seat auditorium. Who was this? Some famous politician? No, in fact the Funeral Home Directors…
American Thanksgiving has come and gone. We did what most Americans did – slept late, ate big, watched football on TV, took a nap, ate again, watched more football, thanked God for the blessings, and went to bed feeling full. All the while, more than 800 million people in the world did not have enough…
If I took time to list all the medical/dental issues I’ve had in the past two years, readers would get depressed and I’d go beyond my intent to share a one paragraph spiritual jump-start. Needless to say, it’s good that I retired so I’d have time for all my medical/dental appointments. The problem is I…
My mother used to worry about me since I exhibited zero musical skills. She actually bought me a trombone and hired a teacher. He showed me the positions on the slide and the sound each made, then quit during the second lesson, when I played “Whispering Hope” by ear. I sang in the church’s Youth…
I’ve had a long-time food love affair, with authentic Mexican beef Tacos. More recently, I’ve started liking Fish Tacos. High on my non-love affair food list is cabbage. In fact, I only eat cabbage with corn beef. Recently I was in a restaurant where I saw West Coast Fish Tacos on the menu. Being a…