Someone called the police. I really don’t know why. Several patrol cars suddenly descended on the dark parking lot, where we had gathered. The year was 1978. I was participating in a high school debate tournament in Odessa the night the cops showed up. To be more precise, I was in the parking lot of the hotel where we were staying. A group of us decided that evening to play toga football in the parking area adjacent to our rooms….
Why bother? Why bother packing up a group of professionals and willing volunteers to go travel to Northern Mexico for a medical mission trip. It is a complete waste of time and energy. I have been told that it really does not make any difference. When we come home, the poverty many of the people face will still pervade cities and rural areas alike. We are not going to change anything on a permanent basis. Why bother? I have been…
October is rapidly approaching. Most schools have been in session since late August. As the leaves on the trees start to turn golden and auburn, educators everywhere are already starting to feel a little weary. The paperwork never ends. There are helicopter parents hovering over their children and making sure their little darlings are being adequately prepared for Harvard in the third grade. High school teachers are trying to motivate kids who are already on their own. Mom and dad…
Having a Christian Service Center to serve the needs of Granbury has been a dream since 2006. For several years now the church that I serve has distributed food to those in need twice a week. There are months when hundreds of families are touched through this effort. Several years ago a group at church had the vision to distribute good used clothing and furniture. This area of service would be of particular benefit to those who had lost homes…
The lyrics to a Daughtry song caught my attention, as I was heading home for lunch today. The title of the song is: Call Your Name. It falls into the “breakup” song genre.I am not really into breakup songs, but this one actually has pretty compelling lyrics. One line reads as follows: There’s gotta be a better way for me to say what’s on my heart without leaving scars. Is there? I prided myself for years on being blunt. I…
It seems that every non-profit agency in our community hosts an annual golf scramble as a means of raising funds for their particular service. That is fine with me. What a great excuse to play golf! This morning I got together with a few of the police officers and put together a scramble of our own. Our motives for such an event were not as lofty. We just went out to have fun. The scramble format makes for a great…
I find a lot of status updates of facebook mildly amusing. Others cause me to just shake my head. And some are just outright funny. I read one last night that had my full attention. A friend put posted a picture of her father, and below it she commented: Missing You Dad (: You see…her father is deceased. I know, because I officiated at his funeral. Bob was a retired troooper with the Texas Dept. of Public Safety. He was…
I arrived at the my morning hang out, The firehouse Cafe’ a little earlier than usual one day last week. It afforded me some time to catch up with Angela, who owns and manages our favorite little morning eating establishment. As I took my place on a bar stool at the counter and sipped on the first cup of coffee of the day, I could tell she was agitated about something. Do I dare ask? I thought to myself. The…
Several years ago I had a very interesting conversation with my 90 year old aunt, who lives in Florida. Prior to that conversation we spent a couple of days together retracing the early married years of my parents. I actually got to stand in the church sanctuary, where my mother and father exchanged wedding vows in 1950. She showed me the neighborhood where they lived in Jacksonville, FL.As my aunt and I enjoyed fresh seafood, I got to hear the…
I am very suspicious of simplistic formulas. Take this pill and you will lose 20 pounds in a week. Buy this program and you will be fluent in Spanish in a matter of months. Spread this on your lawn and you will be an instant nominee for yard of the year in your community. And the list goes on… But I heard a simplistic formula a funeral yesterday that actually made sense. The person eulogizing Roy Castles, who died just…