Some time back I had lunch at Chuy’s in Arlington with my high school classmate, Trey Lehmnan. Considerable interchange on facebook preceded that day of shared tortillas. I set aside a little extra time that day, because I thought lunch might go a little long….That turned out to be correct. We finished over three hours later. It was not a time to exchange pleasantries and discuss football. We discussed life. We caught each other up on mutual friends. There was…
Note: I wrote this blog over 5 years ago. James passed away several years ago. His wife, Juanita, passed away this morning. In honor of their life, I am republishing. If you ever make it to Granbury, you need to stop in at the Firehouse Café for breakfast during your visit. The breakfast special during the week consists of eggs cooked to order, toast or biscuit, and bacon and hash browns as well. I generally make in there on Mondays…
I just read a letter that is displayed in the museum in New York that pays tribute both to those that served and those that lost their lives on September 11, 2001. In the letter, a lady describes a police officer “literally picking her up off the sidewalk” during the mayhem near the World Trade Center. She said he “lifted her off the ground.” And then he told her to run with him to safety. When she thought she could…
You blew it. You said something that was really out of line. You deeply offended a friend or a family member. Perhaps you falsely accused someone of something they never did. You assigned motives to their actions that you created in your own vivid imagination. It happens to the best of us. Apologies are a good thing. It is good for us to simply say that we are sorry. Confession of wrongdoing is even better than just a mere apology….
I don’t like to cry at funerals. But today I cried at a funeral. I went to Mr. McBroom’s funeral today. His name was Henry, but I think my mother would really not want me to call a 90 year old man by his first name, so I out of respect for her I will refer to him as Mr. McBroom. He was one of my kind…You know he was in the ministry. And he was one of the good…
On April 25th, 2012 my childhood friend Ray Christenson passed from this life after a battle with cancer that was fought courage, faith, and tenacity. Growing up Ray was not a conforming child that sat at the front of the classroom with a shiny halo above his head. When we reconnected in January of 2012, I was reminded that the Lord has a good sense of humor. He found a calling in ministry just like me. When we were kids,…
On May 15th, a tornado destroyed an entire housing development in our community. Six people lost their lives. There were numerous injuries that evening too. Needless to say life in our community has not been the same since 8:00 p.m. on the 15th. All of us have been working extra hours to make sure the immediate needs of victims are met. I have learned so much in the past ten days! If the truth be known, I have learned a…
Last Thursday I enjoyed my weekly breakfast tradition with Ira. His youngest daughter is my age, so he could be my father. Our weekly discussions over The Firehouse Breakfast Special give me material to think about for weeks. His depth of character and understanding of Scripture stretches me intellectually and spiritually. Last week he told me that since his wife’s death he has become very attuned to people around him in a restaurant eating alone. A couple of weeks ago…
I love the character of Eddie Haskell on the classic show, Leave it to Beaver. Eddie’s syrupy if not disgusting compliments directed to June Cleaver make me laugh. His obvious duplicity is equally amusing. Eddie can tell Mrs. Cleaver how nice she looks in one moment and totally ridicule poor Beaver as soon as the opportunity presents itself. But in real life, the Eddie Haskell’s among us are just not amusing. People need authentic compliments. Our friends need genuine affirmation…
Thursdays with Ira have become an important tradition. I think I could write a book about the conversations that we have had over the past several months and it would be well worth the read. Ira is 81 years old. He has been a widower for less than a year. His insights on life take me days to process after we depart from our Thursday morning breakfast meetings. Today’s topic of discussion was rather unique. Ira decided on a whim…