One of the great challenges in life for people, I think, is our need for finding the right ‘words’ to describe our thoughts, our feelings, our intentions. Words are, in fact, everywhere we look. On billboards, in newspapers, on television screens, Yes, even smart phones and certainly computers are tools for creating ‘words.’ Have you…
As a pastor, sometimes on Sunday mornings as I greeted folks for the first time at the beginning of the service, I would ask a rhetorical question: ‘How was your week?’ Of course, when you ask a question like that of a large gathering of people, you’re not expecting an answer. It’s a way of…
I’ve noticed something about myself, lately; something I’m not particularly happy about or proud of. Part of the reason I’m not particularly happy about what I noticed is that I didn’t actually notice it myself; my wife did. She often notices things about me that I don’t notice about myself. (Probably one of the reasons…
My wife loves to go antiquing. Whenever we’re on a trip somewhere, and we’ve got some extra time, she loves to search out antique stores and spend time looking at old treasures. She loves walking up and down aisles of oak furniture, knick-knacks, kitchen gadgets and utensils. She doesn’t always buy stuff. In fact, most…
A friend knocked on my office door last week, and as he entered to greet me, he said “I was browsing around in a used book store yesterday and saw this. I thought you might like it.” He handed me a small, thin book. It’s cover had been yellowed by the passing of time, its…
I like to imagine myself as an observer of human beings, and by association, an observer of human behavior. Most of us, I think, are creatures of habit. Much of life is comprised of repetitious activities like going to work, Monday through Friday. Or, standing in line at the grocery store waiting to tell the…
I love our neighbors. They’re the kind of people who would do anything for you. We wave at each other as we pass on our street. When we see each other in our yards, we chat across our fence about life, and how things are going. Their kids are about the same age as our…
I will tell you a true story that you may have a difficult time even imagining. It’s a story about me, and because it’s about me, There is a certain risk involved in the telling. (But, then, there’s always a certain risk in any kind of telling of story, I suppose.) For, the telling of…
If someone were to ask you about the principles that govern your life, how would you answer? One dictionary defines ‘principles’ as “fundamental truths or propositions that serve as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.” In other words, principles represent the line of thinking that we…
I recently read a piece that was published in an old edition of the Springfield Oregon Public Schools newsletter. It was a word picture or parable that caused me to pause and reflect on my life today. It went something like this: “Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to…