Celebrating the Journey

  There are porcupines among us. There are difficult people among us who will shoot their quills for any and all reasons. Several years ago Marshall Shelly wrote a book for ministers about dealing with difficult church members entitled: Well Intentioned Dragons. It is a pretty insightful work. More recently Paul Meier published: Don’t Let Jerks Get the Best of You. It too is a great resource. Why do such books do well? There are porcupines among us… Both above…

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I love do things on a whim. In fact, I thrive on spontaneity. Such inclinations keep Jan sitting on the edge of her seat. She of course is more inclined to live an orderly life that is carefully planned. Poor girl… She has not had a normal day in almost in 26 years. Last Sunday afternoon I was on my way to the conference I was scheduled to attend in Libertyville, IL just north of Chicago. As I made my…

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 It has been a heavy week. My week started with a conference focusing on spiritual discernment in Chicago last Sunday. I spent three days with ministers and other church leaders from all over the nation. I just happened to the only Texan there! It was interesting to listen to a man who serves a church in inner city Pittsburgh. He is facing an entirely different set of challenges that what I am accustomed to in Granbury. Spiritual discernment is a…

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Our longtime friend Sonya is an amazing 8th grade English teacher at a middle school in Northwest Oklahoma. She is clever, witty, and highly qualified to teach English. Most importantly she loves kids. But…I don’t envy the student who chooses to be a discipline problem in her class. I suspect Alcatraz would be appealing to such a pupil before it was all over. Sonya will be a teacher they will never forget. I have told Jan for years that Sonya…

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 I have been cleaning house today. I mean real cleaning. I mean the kind that will make me some major brownie points with my sweet bride. The boys joined me in this true feat of spring cleaning. We held few hostages. A lot went straight to the trash. Spring cleaning reveals far more than I care to admit about the present condition of my life. In fact, I actually formulated a pretty good little list. • I was reminded that…

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I have written several tributes to my former teachers during the course of the past year. I feel a special indebtedness to those who went the extra mile to enhance my educational experience. They did not just teach reading in the second grade or algebra in the 9th grade. They instilled confidence. They really cared about their students. I took a little bit of each of my favorite teachers to the classroom with me when I was teaching as an…

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 I don’t know if are ready to acknowledge it not, but it is a plague. An ever increasing number of kids are being turned out into the streets to fend for themselves. My friends Benny and Niki Nowell lead a ministry that serves teens and young adults who are homeless in Boulder, CO. That part of Colorado seems to be a magnet for troubled and homeless young people. Everyday they serve kids who are living and sleeping on the streets…

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 I often think about Dale when I am playing golf. But I don’t like to think about Dale on the golf course. He is an excellent golfer and a lot of fun to play with. But I don’t like to think about him out there. There are other thoughts that capture my attention, as I enjoy a round of golf. I often use the what if phrase while I am playing. What if I had a really nice and expensive…

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 A couple of days ago I sent my oldest son a text message that simply said: Call me when you can. He responded quickly with: Is this a good call or a bad call? That is a fair question coming from a college age son, is it not? I wish that all of my communication with my children could fall into the category of so called good calls in their minds, but that is not likely to happen. I am…

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  Several years ago I met an older gentleman who was completely estranged from his adult children. To my knowledge there was no communication between father and sons. Their relationship had been in that state for quite some time. When he died, the sons did not attend the funeral service. Brokenness is heart breaking, but unfortunately it is not uncommon. What can be done to prevent relational breakdowns from going on for decades, and ultimately being carried to the grave? …

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