Facade

When I was a child my father once pointed out a ramshackled house that sat near one of the major thoroughfares of our home town. The thing he wanted me to see was the fancy brick facade on the front of the house that masked a falling down-awful house behind it.

Read Full Post »

Weddings

I really enjoy conducting weddings. My most recent occurred at a local museum. The individual that was first asked to conduct the wedding couldn’t, so I was asked if I could take his place. It was an honor to be asked. Weddings are deeply personal occasions, and to be asked to [...]

Read Full Post »

The Pines

It’s Friday, and I’m at the Pines Resort above Oakhurst, California, near Yosemite.  It’s a beautiful sunny day, and the temps right now feel like they are in the 70’s, maybe even the 80’s.  I came up early to get some work done before our Chamber of Commerce retreat begins this evening.
A luxury I don’t [...]

Read Full Post »

God at work…

It’s easy to become a whiner.  Life gets hard.  Challenges arise.  Obstacles interfere.  “God, where are you?  Why aren’t you making my life easier?”
At those times it is helpful to hear about how others negotiate trying times.  People like Nick Vujicic in this video put life in perspective and eliminate the whining.  Watch this and [...]

Read Full Post »

January Adventure – 2

Epworth-by-the-Sea was the venue for January Adventure.  Epworth is located on St. Simons Island, adjacent to Brunswick, Georgia.  It serves as a retreat center of the United Methodist Church, and it holds the ‘January Adventure’ as a yearly renewal opportunity for church leaders.
The median age of the people attending January Adventure was striking.  There were [...]

Read Full Post »

January Adventure – 1

I looked at the notice in a summer Christian Century.  Walter Brueggemann and Barbara Brown Taylor were going to be speaking at at 3–day event in Georgia.  Brueggemann’s topic was Jeremiah, and Taylor’s was about spiritual practices.
I remember being intrigued by the opportunity.  They are both favorites of mine.  But the distance and time made it [...]

Read Full Post »

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The human voice is a wonderful musical instrument, capable of creative and interesting music. The a cappella group, Straight, No Chaser recorded a new version of the Twelve Days of Christmas which is fun and worth watching. I’ve attached it below for your pleasure.

Read Full Post »

Merry Christmas

Our California grandsons had never seen snow, so our son suggested a family trip up to the mountains.  We didn’t know how far we would have to go.  At Mariposa we asked some locals at Burger King where we should go.  “Go to Fish Camp,” they said.  “Tenaya Lodge has a groomed sled run on their [...]

Read Full Post »

Kathy Died

Last Sunday Bev said she wanted to drive up to Lodi to see Kathy.  She said that she was afraid she’d never see her again unless we took this opportunity.  Kathy was in intensive care suffering from the effects of both pneumonia and cancer.  She had been struggling with cancer for years, cancer caused by [...]

Read Full Post »

New Barna Book

I just bought a new book called unChristian.  I found out about it through an electronic newsletter and was intrigued by the premise of the book.  Author David Kinnaman works for The Barna Group, an organization that provides primary research and tools for churches and parachurch organizations.
My interest in the book began because of a [...]

Read Full Post »