Today, we honor those men and women who have spent time in service to our country. Veterans Day is not the same as Memorial Day in May, where we remember those who died. This is for our living veterans. Many have served and sacrificed at high cost to them. When we see those in uniform, … Continue reading Veterans Day 2019
November in the Garden
Has it been a month since we took a walk around the garden? It has been a month and a day, but truthfully, not much has changed since then. Autumn in DownSouth, Alabama is not as impressive as in New England or other places that have changing, spectacular colors. Most of our trees are still … Continue reading November in the Garden
For All The Saints
UMC Hymnal #711 - Author William How. Churches in the mainline and those with more liturgical styles recognize All Saints Day on the Christian calendar. It’s officially November 1 but celebrated in worship on the first Sunday of November. For those who don’t follow this cycle of identifying special days during the year, you might … Continue reading For All The Saints
What’s Your Take on Halloween?
In light of this week's beloved and hated holiday, I want to share some thoughts. This is yet another topic that divides Christians, and like many other points of disagreement, it is not a simple one. Our theology directs us to one side or the other on the subject of Halloween. An oversimplification may set … Continue reading What’s Your Take on Halloween?
Wildflower Walks
Each season offers it's own gifts. Often, taking advantage of them has to be a conscious effort. I speed past, without notice. I look, but don't see the details. As I run errands or hurry to appointments, I do glance over to the side of the road and see the uncut borders of grass and … Continue reading Wildflower Walks
Church – It’s Complicated
I have to confess something. I have a love-hate relationship with the Church. It probably goes back to childhood, around the Sunday dinner table, when we had roast preacher each week, along with mashed Sunday school teacher, and tossed board chairman. I love Jesus a lot more than any denomination. I know, I know. I’ve … Continue reading Church – It’s Complicated
Homecoming and Sukkot
Fall means Homecoming for many high schools and colleges. It’s time for football games that present the Homecoming Court with the King, Queen, and attendants. Small towns have parades, and students have been happy to escape classes to decorate floats with this year’s theme. The community turns out to watch their children ride the floats, … Continue reading Homecoming and Sukkot
Fault-finding Fallacy
I did it again. I watched him sigh and leave the room. He didn’t snap back. He just removed himself from my criticism. He used to throw a quick response back, but not so much anymore. I immediately felt guilty, because I knew I fell back into the familiar pattern of fault-finding. My motive is … Continue reading Fault-finding Fallacy
Dental Floss for the Soul
I’m thankful for social media. I’m thankful that I finally gave in and joined the party. I’ve met so many nice, interesting, faith-filled, smart, funny people – everyone doesn’t necessarily have all five qualities. I’m doing the #DailyGratitude challenge again this month on Twitter. It’s a great spiritual discipline to make the first post of … Continue reading Dental Floss for the Soul
Dinner in the Garden
The weatherman said to expect a cold front next week that will bring cooler temperatures to our area. I got excited about daytime highs predicted to be in the lower 80s. I'm more excited about lows in the upper 60s. That may motivate me to spend some mornings in the garden. The hummingbirds are really … Continue reading Dinner in the Garden
Lives of Desperation
Nobody checks themselves into a mental health facility just for the fun of it. Desperation is usually the motivation. For several years, I was a therapist for a partial hospitalization program. Many of the patients were middle aged adults who were in desperate situations. Our partial program served people who had dual diagnoses of mental … Continue reading Lives of Desperation
Crossing Thresholds
How many times do you cross a threshold every day? It’s not something we even think about. We go in and out of rooms. We enter and exit buildings. We pass through gates and other openings as part of our normal routine – unless we’re forced to crawl through a window when we lock ourselves … Continue reading Crossing Thresholds
The Sun Also Rises
Daily. Quotidian. Every day. Diurnal. Day-to-day. How can a person be exposed to something every morning of their lives and pay so little attention to it? In my lifetime, I’ve had opportunity to witness over 24,000 sunrises. Not that I’ve seen that many. Only a few are truly memorable. Those years when sleeping late was … Continue reading The Sun Also Rises
Driven by Distraction
3:50 a.m. – Woke up with great ideas for blog post. Looked at clock and continued to think. 4:15 – I’m having such insightful ideas that I decided to get up to write. I had almost seven hours of sleep anyway. 4:20 – I’m pouring coffee and the dog asks to go out. 4:30 – … Continue reading Driven by Distraction
Two Cents’ Worth
Blogging or Tweeting is like taking a handful of change and flinging it into the stands in a crowded stadium. It’s not much, but you hope whoever picks up that nickel, dime, or a couple of pennies can benefit from it. Unfortunately, there may be a few slugs among the genuine coins. It’s pretty random, … Continue reading Two Cents’ Worth
Dry Creek Beds
On a recent visit to a lovely urban park, filled with dozens of bronze statues, I saw this artificial creek, used as a setting for one of the art pieces. Varying sizes of rocks are placed to show the meandering pattern of a stream. It ended in an area of lush grass that I, unfortunately … Continue reading Dry Creek Beds
Always in Transition
There's work to be done in the garden. But when is that not true? The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. (CEV) - Genesis 2:15 If my 60-something self could say something to my 30-something self, I would say, "Don't be … Continue reading Always in Transition
Off to a Good Start
Earlier this week, I tweeted how my morning prayer starts. Before I’ve said a word aloud, before I begin my first routines, before my head rises from the pillow, I start my prayer with, “Before my feet hit the floor…” I want my first thoughts in the morning to be directed to the Lord. This … Continue reading Off to a Good Start
Change of Seasons
September is finally here, as we begin the last third of 2019. I won’t keep you long today, since it’s a holiday – Monday, September 2. Labor Day. You could say this day begins the “holiday season.” From now until the end of the year, it’s one holiday after another. Store shelves are displaying fall … Continue reading Change of Seasons
