This will, for a certainty, date me. But I have lived long enough to say I remember Timex watch commercials. Newsman John Cameron Swayze became the pitchman for Timex watches, coining the phrase, “It takes a licking, but keeps on ticking.” The commercials, which continued for 20 years, featured Mr. Swayze presiding as the watches…
I noticed something, this morning. (I’m almost ashamed to admit how much happens around me and my life every day that I don’t notice or pay attention to.) But this morning, I noticed something as I opened my center desk drawer. What I noticed was … junk. It wasn’t big junk, like piles of refuse…
One of the great privileges I have had over the course of my life and ministry is the opportunity to work with some terrific musicians. For more than fifty years, now, on most Sunday mornings I’ve been able to stand before local congregants in some wonderful churches and lead people in the worship of God…
Every morning as I drive to my office, I pass a large American flag that flies along the freeway of our town. It always inspires me to see that flag waving in the wind. I love America, and seeing that symbol of our freedom reminds me to pray for our country frequently as I drive…
For Christmas this year, someone gave us one of those “Echo” units from Amazon. If you’re unfamiliar with the technology, an Echo unit is also known as ‘Alexa,’ a device with a speaker and small screen. It can sit on a counter top, a desk. I’d heard about Alexa, but I’d never seen one in…
The other day, I got a text message on my phone from one of my sons. And attached to that text message was a short video of my ten-year-old grandson practicing the piano. Several months ago, he decided he wanted to learn to play piano. They’ve got an old, out-of-tune upright piano at their house….
The other day, someone I had just met asked me a question I had a little bit of a challenge answering. It’s not an uncommon question. In fact, many casual conversations between two people who have just met begin with the same question I was asked: ‘Where do you work?’ The answer to that question…
If you look around my offices, (I have two; one at home, and one at church,) You’ll see memorabilia on the tables, and all kinds of stuff hanging on the walls; Stuff I’ve collected to remind me of places I’ve been, or people I’ve met, or things I’ve been able to do. There are framed…
When I was in the 5th Grade, my teacher, Miss Graham had the idea in her mind that writing legibly should be an ability all of her students should possess. And writing in cursive was her tool of choice, when she talked of legibility. It seems crazy to me now, but I can still remember…
It’s been a few years, now. As I sat at my desk one afternoon in my office, my phone rang. It was a local hospital. The nurse on the other end of the line was calling about Jerry. Jerry who had a bad back and had decided to have fusion surgery. Jerry, who had been…