“It’s all good.” This small phrase has been running through my head for several days now. It grabbed my attention after an encounter in an overcrowded convenience store (Buc-ee’s) somewhere in southern Georgia. As we were all attempting to navigate the cramped space, a hurried lady ran into me pushing me into another gentleman, sending the items we were holding bouncing off other patrons like...
Resolutions and Lasting Results
The New Year is almost upon us. As is often the case, we find ourselves standing on the precipice of the potential and promise of another 365 days, wondering where the previous 365 have gone and how they went so quickly, while wishing we’d done more with the time that has passed. In an effort to better utilize the time available, many of us make New Year Resolutions. Perhaps you have been...
Hope for Dark Days (The Light Still Shines)
There is much debate over when the Christmas season officially begins. Some, like myself, get the party started early in late October or early November. My personal practice is to dress up as Santa Claus during our annual Trunk or Treat event to mark the arrival of the season. Others prefer to follow the church liturgical calendar and wait until the start of Advent to deck the halls and fire up...
Christmas Traditions
At no time of the year is tradition more widely observed and celebrated than during the Christmas season. Traditions vary from family to family, but we all have our own cherished holiday traditions. And it is, to some extent, the feelings of hope, joy, love, and peace that those traditions inspire that help make the season so special. Traditions have a sense of transcendence to them. They...
Naughty or Nice (Not the Point)
People love to celebrate! As noted in a recent article, on any given day, some “special” thing is being recognized, remembered, or celebrated. This is true throughout the year, but it is most clearly felt throughout what we know as “the Holiday Season.” In the span of approximately six weeks, we will celebrate three of what I would consider the Big Six American holidays. In the midst of these...
Times to Treasure and Ponder (Blessings in Beautiful Chaos)
Ready or not, here it comes! The holiday season is upon us! Christmas music is rising with a steady crescendo as it overtakes our radio stations. Christmas lights are now lighting the night sky throughout our neighborhoods and within our homes. And, as the cold weather begins to settle in, a warm sensation begins to rise within us. Sometimes it’s the warm glow of love, hope, and peace; at other...
Write Some Checks; Do Some Good
We have developed a habit here at First Baptist Church. As my good friend Deryk Baurle recently described it, we allow our mouths to write checks that we hope we can cash. To put it in more literal terms, we volunteer to take on large projects that require large amounts of organization, volunteer involvement, and, in almost every instance, some level of financial investment. Before we’ve fully...
Rain, Rainbows, and the Promises of God
Who doesn’t love seeing a beautiful rainbow in the sky? I know that a vast majority of people in the community of Seymour, Indiana are just as fascinated by them as I, because every time one appears in the Seymourian sky it dominates my social media feed for the next 24 hours. This leads me to believe that a vast majority of people do exactly as I do when I learn that a rainbow has appeared...
Putting Them on the Path (Invest Wisely)
For the better part of the last year, my son has had car-itis. As a soon-to-be licensed driver, his mind seemed to be fixated on cars all day, every day. His car of choice is a late 1980’s Fox Body Mustang. The text message thread from my son to me is both single-sided and single minded. It is filled with links to listings of beat up, broken down, and barely operable Mustangs on Facebook...
Wherever We Go (That’s Where the Party’s At)
Several years ago, the Christian rock band Newsboys released a song entitled Wherever We Go. I loved the song the first time I heard it. Even today, if it happens to come on the radio, I will turn up the volume and let my head bob to the music. Throughout the first verse, the lyrics are kind of ridiculous. They sing about bluebirds singing, flowers blooming, bees behaving, and squirrels smiling...
Recent Comments