“I’m so done. I can’t do this any longer.”  Have you ever said those words – about a job, about a relationship? Me, too!  Situations come our way that test every bit of resolve in us. The high value on… Continue reading

A few moments ago, while my coffee brewed, I took out a pad of notepaper labeled “To do.”  In about 30 seconds, I made a list of things that need to be done on this ‘day off’ and then I… Continue reading

One of the privileges of my pastoral work is getting to be an ‘advocate’ for others.  Occasionally I am asked to help out with some snarl in government bureaucracy. “Pastor Jerry, could you help me, make a phone call, find… Continue reading

In March, 2014, when the oncologist told Bev and I about the severity of her cancer and it settled into my mind that without a miracle, she would be going home in the not too distant future, I felt something… Continue reading

  A by-product of our 250 channel cable connections, our smartphones that beep and chirp from early morning to late into the evening, and a consumer society formed around style rather than function, is an 11th Commandment – ‘Thou shalt… Continue reading

  I watched Ed’s JV football game yesterday with fading hope for a win. His team made a valiant effort but went down to defeat.  But, in the moments following the game, the coach gathered those players on the field… Continue reading

Monday is a day that usually finds me reviewing the weekend. Conversations, meetings, the worship service – all replay in my head. What could have been done better? What should be celebrated? Does anything need to be finished?  But, most… Continue reading

Angst, I know what that feels like. Much of what I had hoped for in my future was wiped away when my wife went to Heaven. Thirty years ago I was full of certainty about so many things. Today I… Continue reading

The voice on the phone was serious.  He assured me that I had won a large cash prize and that all he needed to send it to me was my social security number, birthdate, and bank account number. I thanked… Continue reading

More often than I would like to admit, I find myself questioning how I understand the world in which I live. We certainly are living in an era of epic changes in public policy and private morality.  Even the basic… Continue reading