It's like living Groundhog Day every Sunday, as fewer people attend each time. Each week, more friends and Sunday School members are gone. You keep asking if they are sick or on vacation, only to be told that they have chosen to attend another church. It's like I am attending the same funeral every week, and... Continue Reading →
My Uncle Red Kept Shoes on My Feet and the Knowledge of God in My Heart
He was my father's oldest brother, the only male in our family with a job that paid good wages. Whichever of our aunts my sister and I resided with would call Uncle Red when we needed shoes for school. Back in the 1950s, in the summer, we went barefoot most of the time. Because we... Continue Reading →
Preaching With One-Day’s Notice Reminds Me to Always Be Ready
Our pastor has COVID. She had been trying to call me but was using my husband's number. I finally connected with her, and when she asked if I would preach the next day on the scripture she was going to use about mustard-seed faith, I knew that I needed more than 24 hours to study... Continue Reading →
Have a Plan for the Emotional Losses of Retirement
Daily writing promptDescribe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.View all responses Don't retire without a plan for your time and sense of purpose. That is the advice I would give anyone thinking of retiring. Possibly, one would think that having one's time mapped out is exactly why one retires. But,... Continue Reading →
Covid Finally Made an Appearance in Our House
The only "good" thing about catching COVID at this time is that I had just taught my last class of this 8-week semester and had the time to rest my seventy-something body. I was already behind on blogging, teaching two college courses, and taking two graduate courses, and now I am really behind. I hope... Continue Reading →
Timing is Everything!
I was serenely preaching on Wednesday night for the First Wednesday program at church. I believed from the number of pages of my sermon that I would speak for 30-35 minutes. But when I looked out and Douglas appeared to have a borborygmus tummy, I wondered what was wrong with him, but I kept preaching.... Continue Reading →
ADVENTURE!
I returned to work after recovering from the flu. The first thing I heard was that Wayne had passed unexpectedly. Though he was older, he kept working. I immediately thought about Jim, who had retired with plans to travel all over the US. Within a month, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Others I knew... Continue Reading →
The Humble Witness
I had to go sign up for jury duty today. We all lined up on the sidewalk as we waited our turn to go through the metal detector. I watched as a shabby, bearded, long-haired man stood on the street and preached to the pedestrians. He was loudly proclaiming that they were sinners and needed... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 