How did you spend New Year’s Day? We spent it together as family, enjoying some of our traditions and taking time to appreciate one another. Most of what we did would be considered boring by many people, but the day was filled with a sense of meaning and family, even the nap I took to catch up on the sleep I lost watching the ball […]
Tomorrow is Pentecost. It is also two weeks since I announced to the congregation I serve that a change in pastoral leadership is coming. As you can imagine, accepting the coming change is a difficult thing. Some people are ready to move forward while others are still trying to adjust to the news. For many this time simply feels like chaos, and questions about the […]
It’s about time I start writing again. It seems like I said this too many times before. Life has an interesting way of becoming overfull before you know it. Since my last post in 2011, we celebrated several major holidays, helped two of our children settle into college, and experienced a myriad of changes at church. It’s been a time filled with excitement and with […]
This is the month our culture turns its attention to the celebration of the gift of love. Special dinners, chocolates and other special gifts become symbols of our emotions as we celebrate Valentine’s Day. While some may say it is little more than a holiday created to sell more cards and gifts, at least there is a moment when we pause to reflect on the […]
I have an extra large umbrella, partially because it keeps me drier, but mostly because it is fun to share. It does not happen often, but there are those special times when my wife and I are together while the rain is falling I can bring out the umbrella and we can walk together. It is a pleasure to share my covering with her and […]
During my time as a student at Houghton College, there was a praise chorus that was very popular. Occasionally, I still hear it sung. The words were simple, yet very profound. After celebrating our unity as believers in Christ, the chorus declares, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” The words […]
Here is a holiday acrostic poem for Christmas. May you be blessed with all the joy, wonder, awe and life that is Christmas and may the light of the Infant-King illumine your life and shine through you to light the world. Tidings come from God’s own faceHeralding his incarnate graceEnter shepherds beneath the sky Keeping there, a watchful eyeIn an instant, angelic hostNoble King, of […]
Where will you be when Christmas finds you? It happened to me tonight in a most unexpected way. This morning, I was in the office commiserating with someone who shared my sense that it just did not feel like Christmas. Sure, many of our presents are already purchased, and yes, the carols have been playing in the stores and in our car. There is even […]