CoffeeBreak With The Word

When Springtime arrives and I can fire up the mower and lawn trimmer, I know that happiness is ahead for me. There is something about getting the grass mowed, trimming up around the edges, blowing the clippings off of the driveway, that gives me a sense of accomplishment.  After those two hours, more or less, […]

Platon, the British artist who has taken photographs of hundreds of world leaders from Michele Obama to Putin to Trump, gave a TED Talk in which he spoke of finding our common humanity. Using just the eyes of his subjects, he asks us to look past our preconceptions, our assumptions, our own emotional reactions to […]

Do you ever feel like you are worthless?  It happens to older people who question their value when they are no longer able to do things they once did without a second thought.  It happens to teenagers when they fall into the trap of comparing themselves to others in their social media.  Young parents can […]

Around 5:30 this morning the house suddenly went silent; air conditioners off, the hum of the frig gone. The quiet brought me to a state of being fully wakeful. After using my cell phone to notify the power company, I rested in the semi-darkness, wondering how long it would be until the power was restored? […]

This week was Vacation Bible School week at my home church.  It’s always a memorable time, but this week, for the first time, I participated as a volunteer, not as ‘the pastor.’  I took note of the many ways that other volunteers (58 in total) played a part in creating  an amazing experience for a […]

More than once I have avoided some ‘new’ or unfamiliar social scene wondering about ‘how I should act’ or if I would ‘fit in.’  However, I enjoy a new experience if someone who knows ‘how it works’ will accompany me.  I’ll pass up a new restaurant for one where I know the menu, but if […]

En·cour·age:to inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.To give support to; foster.To stimulate growth; spur onward in personal development. Recently I have re-committed myself, with varying success, to seek to encourage, to be a person who adds ‘oxygen to the room’ rather than sucking the life out of others with critical or negative words. I […]

We sat together over a meal. The person I was with criticized, complained, belittled, and griped for 50 minutes of the hour. Yet, the life that he has is one of comfort. He makes loud claims of faith and is not shy about declaring that he enjoys a real spiritual maturity. I admit that I […]

The calendar has come ‘round again and tomorrow I mark #67. I would feel ‘old,’ except that I have a friend who will be joining a celebration for her grandmother this weekend. That woman is marking her centennial (100!) this year.  Compared to her, I’m still a kid.  I joked with my children that I […]

Having a conversation with someone who really ‘knows their stuff’ is something I truly enjoy. I soak up the information, glad to be able to share the fruits of another’s hard work and experience. At the opposite side of life, when I am trapped in a conversation with someone who talks as if they know, […]