Celebrating the Journey

When I was in high school, the cheerleaders were the most popular girls in our class. They were the attractive girls that dated the quarterback and the wide receivers. They inspired us at weekly pep rallies before the Friday night games.  I have never really thought of cheerleaders out of that context. That changed today. Today, I went to visit a young lady in her early 20’s at the hospital. She is critically ill following a tragic accident. She was…

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I am heartbroken over the events that have occurred in our country over the past several weeks. My close neighbors in Dallas are grieving deeply.  As a law enforcement chaplain, so much of what has occurred feels deeply personal.  A lot of what I have read and heard during the course of the past week is not based on fact. It feels like an emotional reaction to what we are all experiencing. And that’s understandable. Emotions ARE running high. Perhaps…

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Language matters. It really does. What we say and how we say it can be life changing. A female police officer confided in me that more than one citizen in the community she served asked if she could send for a “real police officer” to handle their concern. She took their comments in stride and proceeded to do her job, but such comments can’t help but be hurtful. At a wedding rehearsal several years ago, I was told by a…

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Over the course of my 29-year career in ministry I have learned that churches have hidden treasures.   And I don’t mean a stash of priceless diamonds hidden in a Vacation Bible School costume that has been stored in a closet since 1968.  I am talking about people… Tim is one of the treasures at the church I have preached for nearly 12 years.  He is a very reserved man., He served physically and cognitively impaired students in an elementary school…

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I am planning on being a grumpy old man.  It would probably be a good idea to go on and tell my kids.  But I think they already know. Believe it or not there actually are men that age quite well without the addition of any grumpiness.  I know one quite well.  He is a widower in his 80’s.  A week or two ago it was pointed out to him that there was a man at church who recently lost…

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At some point, our friends are going to irritate us.  It’s inevitable.  Members of our family are going to offend us.  It happens.  We are going to be tempted to get really angry and blow up!    What happens to a relationship, when the breakdown is significant?  I was really irked with someone recently.  I will forgo the details in order to protect the guilty.  But I will share some choices I made that feel really important. I asked myself: What…

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I stumbled on this quote from Alexander Graham Bell.  “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”   One of my friends responded to the quote with this observation.  “I know it is true when one door closes another opens. It is the time in the dark hallway that gets to me.” I imagine most of us resonate…

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As I look back on 2015, I am making the conscious choice to focus on the choices that have caused no regret.  It’s a commitment for me, because my mind automatically gravitates to the poor choices.  I never have any problem reminding myself of the dumb things I said and did.  Here is my list: ·       I was invited to speak at the church where I delivered my first sermon in 1984.  Those kind people asked me to come and…

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