I’m sure that we are all familiar with the word “utopia.” Many of us may think that, if certain things were true, we might even be able to experience it.  For those who may not be familiar with either the word or the concept, dictionary.com defines “utopia” as: 1. an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc. 2. (usually lowercase) an ideal place or state. 3. (usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection. There are at least two words in that definition that are intriguing. Those words are “imaginary” and “visionary.” They indicate that one cannot point to a spot on the globe…

As I write this, Jim and I are staying in a motel while he is preaching at a Gospel Meeting. It has been a very pleasant stay so far with a spacious room and a great breakfast provided every morning (I could get used to this!). All of the staff members here have been very nice to deal with, but one lady who helps with breakfast has been very pleasant to talk to. She has told us about her children and grandchildren, about the job she has, and why she has it. She’s a very hard worker and gets extremely tired every day. The other morning, while discussing how tired she is at the…

It was one of those statements that was written in a derogatory way, but it jumped off the page at me. I was reading an autobiography, and the writer was talking about a nemesis who made what he considered to be terrible decisions. His reasoning was that the man knew all the spreadsheets and financial calculations, but he was never with the people to hear their stories and to understand how all these figures and facts worked themselves out. But the way he worded it is what made it stand out to me. The statement was this: “He knew the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.” I just…

As I type these words, I am a little less than two months into my “retirement.” The reason for those quotation marks is that retirement has not meant that I am sitting on a beach, hiking mountain trails, or going on extended road trips or cruises. At this point, it appears that the Lord may have had another phase of ministry in mind for Donna and me. The phone will ring or a text will be received. Another preacher – or maybe a preacher and his wife – “just needs somebody to talk to.” He – or they – wonder if one or both of us can and will spend some time with them.…