I always wished for a sister, even when my mother was pregnant with my younger brother. I had a wonderful name selected, but Madeline, became Bob, and the wish was over. But I had Vicki, a female cousin, with whom I was especially close, from our days as teammates in all the family football games…
Be very careful which funeral home you use when a family member dies. My cousin had a burial insurance policy that was purchased in another town but was guaranteed to be acceptable at any funeral home. Upon her death we had her body transferred from the Hospice Hospital to a nearby funeral home. When we…
In my early years, I used to spend Sunday afternoons with my Grandfather at the Katy Depot in Waco, Texas. In those days, there would be twelve to fifteen passenger trains passing through on a Sunday afternoon and my Grandfather and I would watch every one of them. There was an interesting thing that I had forgotten…
There is a current TV commercial that fills me with mixed emotions. Dad is on his cell phone. Daughter is busy, but suddenly has a question that won’t wait. “Dad,” she interrupts, “How big is the ocean?” Dad pauses momentarily and then says into the phone, “Can I call you back?’ Next scene is Dad and daughter riding in…
This coming fall, I will be teaching again at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. I will teach the course, “Prayer and Global Ministry” that has not been taught at Southwestern during the sixteen years of my retirement. This time it will be an online course through technology with which I am unfamiliar. In four days last week,…
Last week I attended a meeting of approximately two thousand Baptists. In the meeting area, participants were mostly of one mind, with a few exceptions. In the Exhibit Area, not so much of one mind. That’s one reason I spend so much time in the Exhibit Area. Partly because we allow each church to be autonomous, we are nearly…
After several days of temperatures over 100 degrees, what do we have ahead? More days of the same. July is hot and dry. Even then, summer is the subject of lots of songs and sayings. Here are some of my favorites: “A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing,…
It hasn’t happened very often, but it happened again recently. I don’t always dream, and when I do, I often don’t remember parts of it the next day, but this particularly Saturday night I had a very clear dream. In my dream, I remembered a few events from my early years. Then the dream shifted to a…
Last Saturday was Canada Day and tomorrow is U.S. Independence Day – both representing freedom. Here are some of my favorite freedom quotes: “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right.” — Peter Marshall “God keep our land, glorious and free!” O…
When believers disagree, whether it be in a local church, in a group of churches, or in an entire denomination of churches, at least four things must be remembered. When it is all said and done, Jesus wins. Re-read the back of the Book. I’m not sure that once in heaven, we will be able to look…