Year: 2016

I can see a how a grieving person could be drawn into the false comfort of turning to a medium or a spiritist. Like a moth to the flame, some might seek out such a "practitioner" to try to re-connect desperately with the dear departed. … Read more

Camping in the mountains without one is a disaster. When my brother, daughter, and I backpacked in the mountains, our goal was for our packs to be as light as possible. Among the things that I chose to leave out, a flashlight wasn't one … Read more

My youngest son was born about a week after my ordination; at the end of this summer, he will be legally able to vote! I look in the mirror and see grey starting to creep into my hair, and I realize that I'm no longer a "child", except to … Read more

Fifty years ago, I spent eight months in the desert, some twenty miles from Muscat in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. We lived in a camp, about sixty of us, single status. How well I remember going for long walks every day after work in … Read more

Approximately eight years ago, my father passed away. My mother, who lived two houses down from our place, did not want to stay by herself any longer. She asked us whether we would consider moving in with her if she found a place with a … Read more

Our daughter is "horse crazy". She has been since she was ten years old, when she went with a friend to his riding lesson for the disabled, as they were both deaf. Shortly after that, she began taking riding lessons, too. Over the years, … Read more

This morning when I drove into the church parking lot, I was surprised to see a flock of blue jays hopping on the grass in front of our Fellowship Hall. They were feeding on something, but as there were no berries on the trees, I wondered … Read more

Last fall, I worked off and on at installing laminate flooring in two bedrooms and the hallway of our small bungalow. This last week, I finished the second phase in our front hall. All the while, I kept thinking that there must be a … Read more

At the beginning of anything that is new and unfamiliar, like a new community to live in, or a new job with more responsibility, one can feel sort of scared, wondering about what is to come next. It is helpful to know that Jesus' Spirit … Read more

There is a huge, dead tree leaning precariously beside the path where I walk each day. The tree has been dead for a very long time. Its trunk is naked and bleached by the elements, and its branches, stripped of all foliage, creak and … Read more