Last week I wrote about the phrase “a new normal” and how it has unceremoniously (and without invitation) dumped itself into my life. This week I want to continue my “phraseology” theme by considering what it means to “stay in my own lane.” We all know...
A“new normal.” Are you familiar with that phrase? I seem to have become intimately acquainted with it in recent months, far more than I would have preferred. The lab report comes back positive. Big new words are spoken, a diagnosis received, shock absorbed. There was life...
One of the truisms of life is that to achieve anything of significance, consistency is required over a long period of time. To be in good shape physically, we have to maintain a regular exercise regimen and make healthy food choices not just for one...
Water is an integral part of summer. Kids splashing in the neighborhood pool; fishing and boating; slip-n-slides and water parks; beach vacations; “noodles” and boogie boards; jet skis and water skis; watering parched plants and parched bodies. As both necessity and pleasure, water is a...
Amidst all the flags and parades, watermelon and hot dogs, sparklers and fire crackers, and time with family and friends that we will enjoy today, I hope you will also take time to think about your many blessings and to say a word of thanks. After...
I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. And I believe in love, even when there’s no one there. And I believe in God, even when God is silent. These words, attributed to an unknown prisoner in one of the Word War II concentration camps,...
Friends, the summer solstice is upon us. On Friday, June 21, those of us living north of the equator will experience the longest day of 2019. Not that this is particularly earth-shattering news. As my house has been flooded with light earlier and earlier each...
What comes to mind when you hear the word Timbuktu? Growing up in the South, when someone said something was “out in Timbuktu,” they were referring to something being a long way away, or out in the middle of nowhere. It was a long time...
The Pentecost story often interests children, but can be difficult for them to follow as presented in Acts 2. The opening events of verses 1-4 (especially in the NRSV) catch children's attention. But the long list of unfamiliar ethnic groups (vss. 8-11) can distract them...
A mass shooting in Virginia Beach, leaving twelve people dead. A Catholic bishop spending millions of the church’s dollars on an extravagant lifestyle. A heat wave in India recording eye-popping 120-degree temperatures. A proposal to discontinue funding for educational and physical activity programs for unaccompanied...