I did it! Well, we did it. We survived another year of church camp. For some, the word “survived” may seem a bit melodramatic, but for those of us more inclined to the finer things in life – grit-free bathroom floors, mattresses not made of plastic, bug-less meals and devos – camp is something to survive. For all the years I laughed at Mom for taking her bedside rug and packing in drawers, I now fully repent and am paying my penance. For all of the bugs, sweat, and dirt, there is a greater good that comes from attending church camp. I’m not sure I can fully explain it to…

It’s interesting to see what people will write about you when you don’t know they’re writing it. For example, a few months ago, I finally decided to get online and see what this “Legacy” that my family keeps mentioning is all about. While I was blown away by the number of fantastically written articles and podcasts that I saw (not that I’m biased), what struck me as the most interesting was what my family had written about me in the “About” section. For those of you who have only heard about me from this short snippet, most of what was said is true. I will point out two flaws in…

Ask any Christian, and they will inevitably speak of how important it is to read, study, and talk about the Scriptures. Bible study and Bible discussions are vital to the growth of a Christian. However, too often, we allow three words to stand in the place of a true study of the Bible, or (more often) a true discussion about the Bible. They are three words that we need to remove from our Bible discussions, because they do not help one bit. What are those words? “I feel like.” How often do we hear (or say) that our feelings are what matter when it comes to matters of morality and…

It was the time for gift giving this past December. Our children, their spouses, our grandchildren, Donna, and I were all assembled for the yearly ritual. As you might expect, the grandchildren were especially excited. That just seems to come with the territory when young children are involved. However, this time there was something different about the excitement. To be sure, one of our granddaughters was excited about the gifts she might (and did) receive. She was also excited, though, about the fact that she had found gifts to give to the other family members.  We found out later that she did a lot of her “shopping” around the house in which she and…