Month: October 2006

Years ago, I went to a conference in Los Angeles, California. One of the keynote speakers was known nationally as being a pastor to pastors in crisis. He spent over twenty years leading churches, so he experienced first-hand the trials … Read more

One morning recently, I drove by the ambulance service and the fire department on my way into town. Later, at eleven o'clock, I came back down the same street. Both buildings were gone. Behind where they had stood was a … Read more

An anonymous prayer circulating on the Internet goes something like this: "Dear Lord, so far today, I'm doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy or nasty, selfish or self-indulgent. I have not whined, complained, cursed, … Read more

I dropped my son off at church so that he could do the PowerPoint for the Sunday services. The worship team was already there, getting ready for the morning services. As they were doing the sound checks and microphone checks, … Read more

Each of us has a personal wish list. Whether the list is filled with things that bug us, or just things we wish we had or didn't have, I believe each of us has such a list. Wishing is much … Read more

When the Monarch butterfly landed on my knee, I let myself pretend that it was the one that I had met the year before. It was charming to think that it had made the very long journey from Mexico, just … Read more

As I was cleaning out a pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern, I realized how much we are like these pumpkins. I had looked over the whole bin of pumpkins, and chose the one that I wanted — the one that … Read more

"Eerie" is how I'd describe my reaction to seeing Stonehenge. Walking around its perimeter in the rain last June was surreal. So many questions came to mind. How did the ancients move these huge stones? How did they raise them … Read more

For many years after peace was declared following World War II, a massive army of men, women, and teenagers in Britain invaded school buildings on weeknights, between the hours of 7:00 and 9:00 p.m., to attend classes defined as Evening … Read more

Our son skidded by the group of relatives gathered over coffee at the family reunion. His older cousin, in hot pursuit, traced his footsteps through the crowd. We scattered for the second time, in every direction. Mothers admonished. Fathers threatened. … Read more