On the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day, Donna and I were in Cookeville, Tennessee to watch our granddaughter who lives there in her final performance as Maria in The Sound of Music. I had no idea that I would get an idea for a post while we were there, but I did. As we were leaving, I noticed a man just slightly in front of me and in a position where I could say something to him. I probably would not have said anything except for the fact that his long white hair and beard made him look like a certain “jolly old elf.” He wasn’t quite as portly as that…

There have been many adjectives used to describe this week’s election and the results. Before I go farther, this is not a political post no matter how the beginning sounds. As I drove to work on Wednesday morning, I considered the description listed as our title for today. I have some family members who love history and think it is just neat to have repeated something that has only happened one other time in our nation’s history – a president elected to serve 2 non-consecutive terms. The other was Grover Cleveland, a Democrat back in the late 1800s. (See, guys, I do pay some attention.) I know and love some…

Recently, I was visiting with one of the members of the church where I serve as one of the elders. One of his daughters from another state was taking advantage of a week off from her work to stay with him. Unfortunately, his health is declining to the point that somebody needs to be with him at all times. Since he is a widower, he no longer has a spouse who can help. Fortunately, this daughter and her siblings are seeing to it that this need is met. During the course of conversation with both the father and the daughter, the daughter said something kind of “out of the blue.”…

In recent years, I’ve taken up a new hobby. I now go on scavenger hunts on a fairly regular basis. Well, to be honest, it is not a hobby. Also, in the interest of honesty and transparency, they also are not really scavenger hunts. Actually, what I have started doing more of recently is an attempt to “carry my weight” with regard to some of the things that Donna has done for years. Part of that effort involves what feels to me like a scavenger hunt, but is actually a trip to the grocery store. I’ve been known to tell people at the store on some occasions that my wife…

Just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus told those gathered with Him that they would be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Many throughout the years have noted that these words serve as an outline of sorts for the book of Acts, as the Gospel did in fact spread from the city of Jerusalem, then out to the surrounding regions, and ultimately throughout the Roman Empire, all within just about three decades. Those words from Jesus, though, have also been utilized by congregations to think about their own evangelistic efforts. By “Jerusalem,” a congregation might think about…

I’ve only flown commercially a handful of times, but, on those rare occasions when I have, I have found one of the “preflight instructions” to be interesting. If I remember correctly, passengers are told that, in the event of an incident that causes the oxygen masks to drop down, they are to put on their own masks first. I suppose that some might see that instruction as selfish, but there is actually a practical side to this. The instructions are not given so that a person can take care of himself/herself and ignore the needs of others. Instead, they are given in order that others might be assisted. A person…