“Dad, did you hear what I chose for my processional music?” “No, I didn’t,” I said, as we stood waiting our cue to walk in for the wedding rehearsal. She named the songs before the processional and then said, “And for the processional, ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness.’ So, we need to walk slowly. I want…
Category: family
Heal What Ails You
Matthew called to unpack his time at his parents and then said, “Dad, I have a question and it is okay to say no.” Matthew is our chosen son. He dated one of our daughters for a very short time five years ago. They broke up, but he has remained a part of our lives…
A Picture is Worth 1000 Words
I spent time with our oldest daughter, her husband, two children and her mother-in-law last week in a town near Salt Lake City. This was the first trip out of town I’ve taken since last March. I was thrilled. I went for Pascha, the Orthodox Christian celebration, which often comes later than the regular Western…
Finding Something Solid
My wife, Karen, and I now have been married 39 years, as of yesterday, August 22. I said, “That’s how long old people are married!” Yesterday, we were reminiscing about my sabbatical in 2016. Then I had walked the Camino de la Santiago, began this blog, and spent weeks watercolor painting in Ireland. In the…
No Clouds Here.
San Jacinto UMC July 1, 1988 – June 30, 1994 Karen and I, with Anna (3) and Grace (1) in their car seats, drove for four days, in blistering heat, from Kentucky across the country to Southern California. We put a bucket of ice on the floor under Karen’s feet, opened all four windows and…
Perseverance
Perseverance Chapel July 1, 1987 – June 1, 1988! What a name, right? Perseverance! As a fourth-year seminary student, I took the weekends-only pastoral position at this small, country, Southern Indiana church. The church’s name seemed to be my own life motto — to “try harder,” to “work more.” The congregation was thrilled to welcome…
Look for God
While living on earth Jesus performed many, many miracles. This has long been the focus of controversy by people wanting to see each reproduced today — and they all have been. But still, people doubt. Then Jesus topped all of them in this triumphant defeat over death! Talk about the miracle to top all others! …
Quarantine
Who knew that I would struggle this much with quarantine. I love being at home. I love doing art and cooking and doing dishes. Vacuuming is fun. But when I am restricted home, it feels different. When my day is filled with silence, because there is no coffee shop atmosphere, there are no other people…
Time to Sing
Church worship moved online. Sports canceled. State of emergency declared. Panicked shoppers. No toilet paper anyplace. What a strange and wild time we are living in. While waiting for the customer service at a Walmart, the worker took a phone call and I overheard her saying, “Sir, it is an epidemic. I don’t have enough…
The Stalker
March 24th, 2 years ago, I drove Gabrielle, then 26, to the airport. She then was a flight attendant. Enroute I brought up a conversation that we had partially had another day. During that previous conversation, I had asked if she had had any problems with stalkers. The reason I asked was because during training…
caminowalk2016 