Kids Who Feel Like they are Trash…

Kids Who Feel Like they are Trash…

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Jeff was training for the Olympics. He was on the verge of becoming an Olympian runner when unforeseen circumstances derailed his dream. An unexpected injury permanently dashed any hopes of Olympic competition. He was still able to run, but he was not in a position to compete at that level.   I cannot imagine the disappointment he felt. His life plans shifted in an entirely different direction. He decided to go into law enforcement. I don’t know how many agencies he applied with, but…

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Parents of College Students: Their Sanity Hangs in the Balance

Parents of College Students: Their Sanity Hangs in the Balance

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I was a complete and total angel when I was a college student. And of course I would stretch the truth about other things as well. The truth is that I completely washed one semester at Texas Tech as I pursued my undergraduate degree. That event was not set in motion by angelic behavior. This week a long time friend had to endure his daughter making some choices both educationally and relationally that are probably not going to enhance her…

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Do you Want Your Preacher to Be Real?

Do you Want Your Preacher to Be Real?

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I preach somewhere between 40 to 45 Sundays during the course of a calendar year. I am one of those fortunate ministers that get to deliver the same sermon twice on Sunday. There are times when I think that the first go around was just a good warm up for second service. And there are other times when I feel like I gave so much of myself in first service that there is not enough left in me for the…

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Help: My Dreams are Moving On Without Me!

Help: My Dreams are Moving On Without Me!

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On a particularly frustrating day recently it occurred to me that the sum total of my present commitments and the dreams that I formulated many years ago did not appear to be a close match. On the surface my ideals and what I am actually doing everyday did not seem to be living in the same neighborhood! What do you do when you think that your dreams got up and left in a moving van with the name “Cold Reality”…

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My Mother was Never 16 Years Old…

My Mother was Never 16 Years Old…

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My mother graduated from high school in 1945 in Jacksonville, FL. She watched classmates that were a few years ahead of her be drafted and quickly head of for overseas military duty during WWII. Many of those young men did not come home… I wish now that I had pressed her for more details regarding her high school experiences, but the one story did share still stands out. She told me about a cousin, who was a few years older…

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Romance in the Red Cross Tent…

Romance in the Red Cross Tent…

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One of the perks of being a Baby Boomer minister is the distinct privilege I have had for 24 years now to serve members of the Greatest Generation, as they are so called. I wish now that I had records of every funeral service I have done over the years for WWII veterans, and their spouses. I have officiated at quite a few. In more recent years, I have been honored to officiate at internment services at the Dallas National…

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Nobody is Looking…..

Nobody is Looking…..

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I will call him Roy. He is loud. He usually invades my personal space when he talks to me. His behavior occasionally disrupts my sermons. He has been known to dominate my time in public settings. He bombards with a constant stream of questions every time I see him. He is not a 5 year old. Roy is a mentally challenged man in his early 30’s. After early service was over yesterday, I was particularly tired for some reason. Preaching…

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Ships Passing in the Night?

Ships Passing in the Night?

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My sweet little bride is a Barry Manilow fan. Of course this causes her boys to cringe. That is just beyond their comprehension. I must confess that I join the banter when they tell her that Manilow’s song entitled “Mandy” was written about his dog. Actually if the truth be known I planted that seed in their young minds quite a number of years ago. And as far as I know such a conclusion is based on some urban legend…

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Living in Community

Living in Community

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I was not introduced to the phrase “living in community” until recent years. I knew I grew up in “a” community, but I did not realize I lived “in” community minus the article “a.” until that phrase became a 21st Century buzzword. My parents’ generation lived in community too, but it was such a natural part of life I suppose they felt no need to give it an official name. My mother was a native Southerner who found herself transplanted…

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Everybody Needs a Hideout…

Everybody Needs a Hideout…

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This week at a school banquet I heard parents of high school students lamenting their lack of solitude and down time in general.  Several of them were parents of younger teens that have not quite reached the driving age.   They are in the taxi cab stage of parenting for at least another year.   I am sympathetic. I have been there. As I thought about all of our constant busyness, a rather sobering thought occurred to me.  We tend to make…

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