Family
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From Three to Two to One
When you read that title, you may have thought of the last few seconds prior to the launching of a rocket, the end of a dramatic basketball game, or something else like these things. In reality, the title has nothing to do with any of those things. Instead, it has to do with how confusing our society is becoming. It is (or at least it used to be) normal during a wedding ceremony for a preacher to encourage the couple getting married to make sure that God was the third partner in their relationship. He might even spend some time explaining some of the benefits of that. Even if the…
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And Their Voices Prevailed
If you have a copy of God’s Word handy, you may want to read the twenty-third chapter of Luke before you read the rest of this post. In that chapter, we can read Luke’s inspired account of some of the events concerning the arrest, interrogation, condemnation, and crucifixion of Jesus. Other details are in the other gospels, but we will focus our comments to those recorded by Luke – along with a few details gleaned from the other gospel accounts. I find the words that are used as the title of this post to be extremely interesting and informative. They play a major role in the narrative that follows. A…
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Taking Away Their Humanity
It is one of the most haunting things I have read in a long time. It is also the polar opposite of what our culture tells us is the truth. I’ll share what it is in a minute. As we come to the end of so-called “Pride Month,” we are exhausted by the unceasing messaging of all the sins that are being promoted. We are tired of seeing rainbows (with an ever-expanding array of colors) everywhere and we are ready for something else to dominate the news. But we cannot ever leave this issue until it is shown to be what it is: sin. Today, though, I want to share…
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Dads, Step Up…and Get Help
Last Sunday was Father’s Day. It was a joy to have more people in worship at Central than we had had in several weeks (including Mother’s Day) and to see so many who were present to encourage their dads. This post may have just been written down recently, but it was in my mind from the time I wrote my sermon for Father’s Day, which was completed a long time ago. It comes from something that I said in the sermon, but only very quickly. I thought it might be good to expand on it here and maybe give a little further encouragement to dads. The New Testament gives the…
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Sometimes It’s Tough
Now, there’s a wide open topic for you! Let me narrow it down just a bit by saying it is sometimes tough to be an elder’s wife. I’m aware that it is sometimes tough just being a wife, even if your husband doesn’t serve in this capacity. I also am aware that it is sometimes tough being married to a preacher. I’ve lived that life for a long time. However, being the wife of an elder has its own challenges and I would like to share some of those with you. He can’t share everything with me. Before he became an elder one of the greatest qualities of our marriage was that…
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A Few Thoughts before the (Kind of) Big Day
The calendar informs us that Father’s Day is a few days away. Somebody has suggested that Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day – except for the fact that fathers get fewer gifts. I’m not going to speculate on whether or not this observation is true. I’m also not going to enter the discussion about whether or not greeting card companies (and other interested parties) may be behind reminders to remember our fathers with a special day. Instead, what I hope to do in this space is to ask those who read this to learn from one incident on one day of my life. It is a day that can…
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What I Learned at Cousins’ Camp This Year
Cousins’ Camp 2023 is now in the books. We had a great time together and, for a change, all of the cousins got to be here. Our oldest grandson, Luke, only got to be here for about a day and a half because he has a job working with the church in Cookeville, TN where he had responsibilities to fulfill. For those of you who don’t know what Cousins’ Camp is, let me explain. For the last 11 years we have set a date for a gathering of all of our grandchildren to come to our house for a camp. We have a boys’ cabin and a girls’ cabin, a counselor’s…
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The Creep of Pride
Tomorrow (June 1) is the beginning of “Pride Month” in the United States. The month is meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. However, there are a couple of things about this “celebration” that Christians need to be keenly aware of, and that need to be said loudly and clearly. First, simply consider the irony of calling all this “pride.” Considering that “pride” is the sin behind all other sins, it is tragically befitting of this month. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, the serpent gave the temptation (basically) to be equal with deity and the pride that temptation led to was not overcome by Eve. Ever since,…
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A Vital Vitamin
According to one source I consulted, people in the United States spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 billion dollars each year on all sorts of vitamins and supplements. At least that’s what this source said was spent in 2021. Who knows what that figure is now? All of those dollars are spent in an attempt to have more energy, look younger, have better health, sleep better, have smoother skin, and accomplish an almost endless list of other things. You may have noticed that there is a “common denominator” in all of those things. If you haven’t noticed it yet, be patient. I plan to mention it later. I believe…
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Motherhood Never Stops
A lot of times, you will hear phrases like that–“motherhood never stops”–to describe the 24/7 nature of the work. There are unceasing demands on your physical and mental energy. The tasks never truly get “done.” There’s no vacation from it and there’s no way to ever feel as if the job is complete. But I mean that phrase today in a different way. Let me explain. Our children are 17 and 16. They aren’t the same as they were at 12 or 6 or 3. That’s obvious, but, sometimes, a mom might wish they were. Still, in just a year or two, we will be empty-nesters. Then what? My wife…
