Celebrating the Journey

Let’s face it.  The holidays are stressful.  Last week I heard several stories of family disunity and dysfunction.  A father lives in the same town as his grown daughter and grandchildren, but doesn’t even as much as call them on Thanksgiving.  In other scenarios, step-children appear to get a greater degree of attention then blood relatives on a holiday.  Holiday plans are made. Family members are purposely left out.   The possibilities for conflict and hurt feelings seem endless.  The holidays…

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Randall, where is your pencil?  When my oldest son was in the first grade, he was frequently not prepared for writing assignments.  It was actually a simple problem. He could not keep up with his pencil.  He had a seasoned teacher that year.  I think she recognized that he really was bright, but she noticed that his mind was often in a world far removed from the daily rigors of the first grade. By the time he reached the fourth…

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Jim McGuiggan is one of my longtime heroes in ministry.  I heard him speak last January.  He still has that uncanny ability to speak to the heart as well as the head.  Here is a small portion of an article he composed in 1977 that was recently reprinted.  In Ireland where milk is sold in glass bottles, a seven year old was asked by his father to the put the bottles at the end of the path so the milkman…

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Accounting Principles changed the direction of my life.  Seriously, it really did!  I was enrolled in my second year as an undergraduate student as a marketing major.  My goal in life was to be a business tycoon.  But then accounting principles rolled around in the degree plan. The professor had just earned his PHD at a prominent university in the Midwest.  He told us on the first day of class that accounting principles would be a weed-out course. In his…

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My boys have repeatedly accused me of allowing my music tastes to get stuck somewhere in the ’80’s.  Of course I am not about to admit my state of guilt to them, but they are indeed correct.  I like classic rock music that is now thirty or even forty years old.  I was helping one of our 20 something’s at church move to a new apartment a few weeks ago.   When her ringtone blared out some unfamiliar, but no doubt…

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I have been experiencing flashbacks the last several days.   And believe it or not I really did not do any LSD back in the ‘70’s.   I actually did a little research.  Apparently having LSD flashbacks decades after ingestion is indeed urban legend.  As a matter of fact, my flashbacks have been very specific. They seem to be characteristic of an aging father… The first one occurred Saturday evening.  We hosted some friends overnight that have three small pre-adolescent children.  It…

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Yesterday I was privileged to attend the funeral service for a man that I deeply respected. I learned a lot about leadership from Dr. Phil Sims.  But my favorite “Phil story” has more to do with his role as a father… I am a pretty big guy, but Phil towered me.  I felt like a little boy in first grade standing next to him.  He was also very intelligent, so to say that he could be intimidating is understatement. As…

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We took an interesting man out to breakfast this morning. The conversation with him was engaging to say the very least. Topics over eggs and coffee ranged from the needs of aging Vietnam veterans to matters of theological signficance. The interchange additionally veered off into such topics as classic films and the real estate market. I love a challenging conversation, so today was a treat. I should also mention that our dining experience was disrupted by a restless little boy sitting right…

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When Mother’s Day rolls around, those of us that preach on Sunday’s develop a sermon that honors the moms among us.  It is really not a day for preaching.  Some of my colleagues will even make use of syrupy poems or heartfelt stories.  And of course all Mother’s Day sermons are short.  We must get out moms out early, so they can be the first at the restaurant.  I have actually done all of the above.  I am all about…

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