Category Archives: Uncategorized

We tend to be impressed by those things and places that can claim to be the ‘world’s greatest.’  There’s a book for that, the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1951, Hugh Beaver, managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went hunting in Ireland.  He missed a shot which launched an argument about the ‘fastest’ gameContinue reading “World’s greatest …”

Everyone is subject to making “knee jerk” reactions in life. The idiom refers to the reflex of a normal person when a physician taps the tendon in the knee with a little rubber hammer. The lower leg moves in response to the hammer’s impact without any conscious thought on the part of the patient. EachContinue reading “We have real Hope”

The text read, “Please call me.”  I looked at the name and knew it would not be good news. It wasn’t. A friend who had been critically ill with COVID, for whom I had prayed for days, had stepped into eternity. When I spoke with his widow, my heart broke – for her, for theContinue reading “Paradise waits”

Sam, my old Irish Setter, is a gentle dog who loves people, but if she feels that she is being cornered or pressured a deep growl rumbles from her throat and her lips curl back to reveal some vicious looking teeth! When she thinks that there is a real threat of harm coming her wayContinue reading “Snarling at the world?”

One of the long-term effects of this pandemic will be the impact on human relationships. While daily infection numbers and death rates capture our attention there is a secondary effect that is taking a hidden but heavy toll on people: isolation. We know that ‘social distancing’ keeps the bug from spreading to some degree, butContinue reading “Together? More important than we know”

The new pastor was being formally commissioned with beautifully prepared worship that included lessons on pastoral care as well as instructions to the congregation about their response to their shepherd. The most beautiful part of the service was a dance!  As a song played, a woman gracefully danced to the altar where a candle containedContinue reading “Let’s Dance!”

A younger friend, who is a pastor, recently announced his next sermon series title – “Life Sucks.” When I read it, I laughed, amused by his summary of Ecclesiastes, that book in the Bible from which he will be taking his texts. In fact, it is a book full of cynicism. For example, Solomon writesContinue reading “Life Sucks?”

In the economy of the Roaring 20’s he was a new breed of stock investor, a true analyst. His reports caught the attention of some key financiers, valued by those investing on Wall Street and he started to build his wealth. Under the cover of his financial acumen, Bill had a secret. He loved alcohol.Continue reading “Bouncing off the bottom of life?”

Since my birth these United States have been led by 12 different Presidents! – Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald J. Trump. Looking over that list I see someContinue reading “Our New President”

So many of us are disoriented, shaken, and afraid these days. The pandemic statistics reported to us keep on rising, along with apocalyptic opinions about what’s next. Conspiracy theories, most unfounded, sprout like dandelions on our social media accounts. Having witnessed the self-serving actions of so many of those who are supposed to be ‘leaders,’Continue reading “Shaken? Afraid?”