Church Life
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We Are All At Risk
I know. I know. You probably don’t want to read another blog post about the coronavirus or Covid-19. I get it. Neither do I, and I certainly don’t want to write another one! However, I have heard this sentence used over and over again concerning the virus. Sometimes it has been talking about those with serious underlying health issues, but when we try to explain that to another person, what we hear is “We’re all at risk.” And that is most certainly true. As I contemplated that sentence the last time I heard it, my mind went in an entirely different direction. I’d like to share some of those thoughts for your contemplation. Some of these…
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An Election Day To-Do List for Christians
A staggering number of people all across the country have already voted, but there is still something special about “the day.” That day–the day of the general election in the United States of America–now stands less than a week away. For weeks and months, we have been wearied by news coverage and social media posts about it. Christians have commented on posts, shared their views, read articles, watched coverage, and tried to think through how to vote. But, let’s be honest, not everything that Christians have said and done leading up to the election has been reflective of people of faith. Sometimes their tone has been dismissive or even mean.…
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The Cold Within
I am often amazed by what I find when I am actually looking for something else. Recently, while I was going through some of my old material, I found the poem below. It is only very loosely connected to what I was working on. After thinking about it for a while I realized that, while the poem may not have been really connected to what I was working on, it actually does connect to all of us. I believe that is true regardless of where we are in life or the situation(s) in which we find ourselves. I hope that you will do as I’ve done. I’ve read it and read it…
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Infinity
If you attended Freed-Hardeman University at a certain time and had a certain professor, you probably will never forget his lesson on infinity. It was a college kid’s dream! The professor simply started at one end of his chalk- or whiteboard and began to draw a line. He then proceeded to continue that line off the edge, around the corner, up the stairs, and out of the lecture hall. That was the end of that day’s class: infinity. As fun and as memorable as that lesson was, it was flawed. You see, when the next class period rolled around, you were still expected to be back in that lecture hall…
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What is Our Greatest Joy?
I’m going to get in trouble with this post. I know I am. But I want to speak to something that, it seems, the pandemic is not causing, but is exposing at a deeper level. Christians are praying people. It is a beautiful thing when Christians pray for one another. Sometimes, that is done in private time, in our “prayer closet,” alone with the Lord. Often, however, it is done as a congregation. We believe in prayer and we pray fervently because we know that prayer is effective in aligning our hearts more closely with the will of God. And we pray about all sorts of things. Hopefully, we spend…
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Nobody Wins
I recently heard a country song from a few years ago that I had never heard before. That’s not too unusual since I’m not a huge country music fan. It’s also not too unusual that the subject of the song was the breakup of a relationship. The nature of the relationship is somewhat unclear, but what is clear is that the relationship is one of a romantic nature. Two people who have spent time together, who had shared a number of experiences, and who may have even shared a name were “calling it quits.” The song expresses a lot of emotions including, but not limited to, sadness, regret, frustration, and resignation. The name of…
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A Simple Solution for Racial Strife
Recently, I overheard a conversation. I promise I was not eavesdropping; the participants were speaking so loudly that I could hardly help hearing almost every word. One participant was older, and was a man. As the conversation went on, he revealed that he was 80 years of age. The other was somewhat younger, and was a woman. She told the man the year she was born, and it was in the 1960s, so she would be in her 50s; a full generation younger. Oh…the man was white and the woman was African-American. They talked about everything. (They made it rather difficult to read my book!) But, at one point my…
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Preparing for a Successful Migration
For some reason, we have fickle hummingbirds. Some of our friends put up hummingbird feeders and have plenty of “customers” all summer long. That’s not the case with us. We have a few at our feeder in the spring when hummingbirds first start appearing in our part of the world and then they disappear. Actually they disappear only to reappear much later in the summer or very early fall. I don’t understand, but that is the way it is for us. As I’m typing these words, we once again have hummingbirds. It is a joy to watch them. They are amazing creatures. Thanks to a comment made by Donna the other day, they can also give me…
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You Find What You are Looking For
I recently got to spend some unexpected one-on-one time with my middle child while he was in a rare talkative mood. I heard a lot about Star Wars, Harry Potter, and certain musical aspects of the Sonic video games. However, my favorite part was when he got around to telling me about connections he has made in his Bible study. You see, Daniel looks for connections in his study. In fact, I think he already has an idea for a pretty amazing study book at the ripe old age of 16. If you know him, you know he loves the Old Testament books that detail the lives of the kings.…
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Maybe We Need a Zookeeper on Social Media
Early in the pandemic in England, one wildlife park had five parrots donated within just a few days of each other. Pressed for space, the park put the five birds in the same area and the birds got along well. However, when the park recently reopened to the public, the zoo had a problem: the birds had spent the last few months alone, and had “taught” each other to use rude and profane language. So, in an attempt to keep things family-friendly, the zoo recently had to take the birds off of display. For about seven months now, we have been holed up and, even if we are out and…
