Editor’s Note: I am republishing a couple of my favorite blogs today and tomorrow as the year ends. I originally shared this one in 2009. Life is not Disneyland…. It was a beautiful summer day in 1992. Mom and dad loaded four kids up bright and early, and left the hustle and bustle of life in Dallas for a vacation at Disneyland. Plans were foiled however about fifteen miles southeast of Vernon on Hwy. 287. A car crash left both…
When I did coursework in church history as a graduate student, I was introduced to the term asceticism. The dictionary defines asceticism as: a religious practice of strict discipline and self denial. Based on what I know from history such a definition is not strong enough. When the famous reformer, Martin Luther was a young monk, I am told that ascetic practices led him to be physically self abusive. Unfortunately extreme asceticism has not proven to be a helpful discipline…
This week I am working on a lecture that I am scheduled to deliver in Little Rock, Arkansas in March regarding stress in law enforcement. I am to teach this core training course at the annual Regional Training Seminar for the International Conference of Police Chaplains. I will delve briefly into the concept of post-shooting trauma, but my primary focus will be on the day to day stress of being in law enforcement. One of the principles that I will…
My Christmas Eve passed by safely without meeting any old lovers in the grocery store. And that suits me just fine! Those of my generation will quickly recognize the reference to Dan Fogelberg’s song from 1981: Same Old Lang Syne from the album The Innocent Age. The opening lyrics to the song are as follows: Met my old lover in a grocery storeThe snow was falling Christmas EveStole behind her in the frozen foodsand I touched her on the sleeveShe…
Christmas is a time when you get homesick, even when you’re home….-Carol Nelson It was 1984. It was our first Christmas together as a married couple. When we got married in August of that year, I had just finished my undergraduate degree in speech communications. My plan was to stay in Lubbock and pursue graduate level work, but at the last minute I withdrew from the program to which I had been accepted. Being with my new bride at that…
Last week at a Christmas party some friends of mine told me that their grandchildren did not have anything on their Christmas list that was under $100.00. My first inclination was to ask them if they could legally adopt me as one of their grandchildren. But my mind quickly raced back to a story I heard about another Christmas party that was held for our campers that attended Royal Family Kids Camp last summer. Royal Family Camps were formed to…
A person goes on a mission trip for the first time, and upon their return they are insufferable. Is it a life changing experience to serve people in a different culture who are living in desperate poverty? There is no doubt it. Such trips are truly transformational. When that first time participant returns home, they find it hard to comprehend that everyone else is not as fired up about going to Haiti or Mexico as they are after a two…
I miss teaching. I taught as an adjunct instructor for ten years at two different universities. I loved the students. Using my creative energies for weekly lesson preparation was nearly as much fun as being in the classroom. One of the perks of teaching is the closure that it brings. A semester begins in September and ends in December. Another semester gets underway in January and wraps up in May. Closure is a good thing. I always enjoyed getting a…
When I was a high school student, the closest I thought I would ever have to get to a state trooper with Texas Dept. of Public Safety was on the side of the highway when my speed could exceed the limit on rare occasions. Little did I know there were other plans for me on the horizon? I became a volunteer chaplain for the Wichita Falls Police Department almost exactly 21 years ago. In that role, I rubbed shoulders with…
My imagination has to be kept in constant check, or it can travel to places that are not emotionally safe. When I am feeling strong resentment toward another person, my imagination slips into high gear and starts traveling through the rugged terrain of bitter images. I start creating vivid images in my mind of what I would like to do to the person whom I feel resentment toward. This of course is never a good course of action. A friend…