I really do believe there is such a thing as a sacred place. I am not really using the term in a profoundly theological manner. I would say that there is such a thing as a special place, but sacred is more descriptive. The campus of Lubbock Christian University is a sacred place for me. I can still go and stand in the very place where I first got to know Jan during the spring semester of 1983. We sat…
Choose your words carefully. You never know what kind of impact that you are about to make in someone’s life. As a minister, I have heard everything. As a police chaplain, I have been called everything. That is a bit of a stretch, but it is not too far off from the truth. People’s verbal reactions to sermons can sometimes be amusing, and other times not so entertaining… A number of years ago a colleague received the following reaction in…
In July of 1989, I started anticipating the arrival of my oldest son. Jan was due on July 6th, so I scheduled my vacation to begin that very day. I was under the assumption that babies arrive right on schedule. Why would my male brain think anything differently? The 6th of July came and went. There was no hint of labor pains. There was a dad to be in the house who was on the verge of becoming a pain,…
There have been several prominent news stories recently regarding insurance companies that lack financial solvency. If you are insured with State Farm, you don’t have a thing to worry about. I am paying them enough in car insurance premiums alone to keep them fiscally sound for decades. It is called having two male drivers under the age of 25. I think they must know that a third one is waiting in the wings, and are charging me accordingly. Actually I…
US Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberg became an overnight celebrity in the wake of his heroic actions during Flight 1549 on January 15th of this year. Birds collided with the jet engines, which placed the aircraft in mechanical danger in a matter of seconds. The captain made an instantaneous decision not to fly the disabled aircraft back to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Instead, he made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. He of course was applauded by aviation officials for…
My mother was the Queen of Hospitality. When I was 16 years old, she would make homemade chicken tenders and all of the trimmings, and bring it to the car wash where I worked. My friends inahaled her Southern delicacies. I have tried to replicate her chicken tenders on more than one occasion, but finally gave up. When I was in college, we were welcomed home from Texas Tech football games with homemade stew and cornbread. My friends living in…
It was late fall in 1980. The leaves were golden, the weather was turning crisp, and my first semester at Texas Tech was almost over. I got off work one night just as the breathtaking West Texas sunset was casting shadows over my drive home. That is when I saw her… I almost ran into the person in front of me in traffic that evening. My heart skipped a beat. I swallowed hard. She was sitting all by herself at…
When it comes to relating to Jan’s extended family, I have never received passing grades. I have actually had over 25 years to practice too! I have been a resounding relational failure in that area of life. My friends find such a revelation to be shocking. I am generally perceived as being a people person. I love being with my close friends. Many of my friendships have spanned for over three decades. I am always open to the cultivation of…
I really wish that all of the important relationships in life came with an owner’s manual attached. It would save a lot of time and avoid painful relational grief. I have mentioned in previous posts that I did not grow up associating with extended family on a regular basis. That is putting it too tactfully actually…We just never did anything with extended family. There were no big holiday gatherings or family reunions. There were several reasons for such familial isolation….
Roles are reversed this weekend. I am so accustomed to serving families in grief. It is a huge part of my life as a minister, and more importantly it truly is my calling. This weekend I am watching the good people in Ft. Collins, CO serve our extended family, as we try to come to grips with the reality of losing my 17 year old nephew. Neighbors are flooding in with enough food to feed a small army. Friends from…