My 67th trip around the sun started yesterday.  A pandemic and all the accompanying restrictions was part of the last one, making it memorable mostly in an awful way. This year promises more change as I will step away from… Continue reading

Several years ago I attended a seminar for pastors led by an ‘expert’ in stewardship who said that his methods would increase giving at the church by at least 30%. Some of the principles were sound. He told us to… Continue reading

I like me and I’m quite sure you like you! The natural human way is to “Watch out for #1.”  Somebody gave me a paper that bears the heading “Dying to Self.”  A magnet holds it in place on the… Continue reading

Consumer debt is a tricky thing. Credit cards allow us to buy things we want today using tomorrow’s money; which not a great idea generally! Often the interest rate is high. Too many people get themselves buried in debt when… Continue reading

Think about your life and the people who have helped to make you who you are. Some taught you formal lessons as your teachers. Perhaps it was someone you never knew except through the pages of a book or a… Continue reading

The reality of the ‘next step’ settled on me yesterday.  In December, 2019, I began the process of preparing the church which I have served for 21 years for my stepping aside from the pulpit. Yesterday, the congregation elected  a… Continue reading

A Facebook ‘memory’ showed up on my news feed from 8 years ago, pictures of a summer vacation in Florida that did not go so well. Looking at them I felt a flood of regret. I wondered what would I… Continue reading

Because of my faith in Christ Jesus and the convictions that come from God’s Word, I often feel like a stranger in a foreign land these days. That really should not surprise me because people who truly love God have… Continue reading

I so enjoy being invited into a home where I discover a refuge, an emotionally warm place that says ‘Welcome.’ Over the years Bev and I opened our home to many people, some for a day or two, others for… Continue reading

One of life’s blessings, taken for granted by most of us, is access to clean water. We go to a faucet and draw a glass of water to drink without a thought of being sickened. The water that sustains life… Continue reading