What if . . . Something We Seem Predestined to Ask.

Hello as the beginning of August is beginning to feel like the dog-days-of-summer, While I have heard the phrase numerous times, I knew neither its origin nor its significance overall. I was quite accurate in that it is about the warmest days of summer, and I learned it corresponds the star Canis Major, and itContinue reading “What if . . . Something We Seem Predestined to Ask.”

My _Family Circus_ Life

Hello on a humid August afternoon, I am regularly told I’ve led an extraordinary life, from students asking where I am jet-setting off next to regular reactions of surprise or disbelief because of the various experiences I reflect upon as a matter of course; it’s just how my life has unfolded. Certainly, from the outsetContinue reading “My _Family Circus_ Life”

Consumption versus Creation

Hello from a hospital waiting room, Before you worry, it is not for me. I am visiting. It’s been a fabulous couple days weather wise, and the weekend predicts more of the same. It might be the nicest 4-5 day stretch I remember in a very long time. The nights have not required the AC,Continue reading “Consumption versus Creation”

Unending Love; Amazing Grace

Hello from Cape Charles, Seldom does a week pass that I do not have moments where something reminds me of my grandmother. And certainly memories of her, her being my mother the early years of my life, my employer in high school, and my protector of sorts until she passed illustrates how much influence sheContinue reading “Unending Love; Amazing Grace”

Begin with One True Sentence

Hello as I wait for my seating, It’s a Monday midsummer, and it’s a warm one. It reminds me of summer days when as a child I would lay on the bed in the front screened-in porch of my parent’s house and read a book. I was fortunate that the neighborhood Public Library was onlyContinue reading “Begin with One True Sentence”

“The Road Not Taken”

Hello on the first of June, As noted by my father regularly, time will begin to seemingly pass by more rapidly. Of the many wise things, truthful things he said, this one might be the more accurate. At least, that seems to be the case as I consider how we got to the first ofContinue reading ““The Road Not Taken””

To Lament or To Learn

Hello from the micro-acre, The summer I did my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at St. Luke’s in my hometown of Sioux City, there was a lot on my plate. I had been diagnosed with what then was determined to be Ulcerative Colitis, I was on leave from the seminary, was planning a wedding at theContinue reading “To Lament or To Learn”

Where Do We Find You?

Hello from Bloomsburg, It’s Friday, and it’s been a week of extremes when it comes to what I was planning for and what I was not. It began with the Memorial Day, and I was fortunate to attend the commemoration of veterans at one of the most well-kept of area cemeteries. The event was nicelyContinue reading “Where Do We Find You?”

Silence: Wisdom’s Best Reply

Hello at the end of an great weekend, This past week a close friend asked me about how I seem to know how to respond to what someone says or just how to reply in a given situation. Let me preface my response with an honest disclaimer. I certainly have been know to put bothContinue reading “Silence: Wisdom’s Best Reply”

A Scar that Never Fades

Good early morning, Into the post-Super Bowl, pre-Valentine’s Day, middle of the week-Winter Olympics mashup of February. It’s the 10th of February, and a day for me that remains as clearly etched into my memory as November 22, 1963, the 28th of January 1986, 911, or even March 4, 2020 (I actually noted in conversationContinue reading “A Scar that Never Fades”