Becky and I will be in Sturgis, Michigan, for Thanksgiving. Hoping to avoid some of the day-before traffic on the Turnpikes (Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, in that order), we will leave early Tuesday morning and hope to arrive late in the afternoon. Our son-in-law, Ryan, has to work on Wednesday, and Katharine, our daughter, has a bit of at-home work to do, as well. “I’m sure you won’t mind playing with the girls for a while,” Katharine wrote a couple of days ago. Her confidence is not misplaced.

Lena will be five in February and Ada was two in September. We won’t mind playing with the girls for a while. Becky will bring books to read and crafts to do. The girls will delight in what Grandma brings in her bag. I will be down on the floor, my specialty is to provide the voice for whichever stuffed animal I’m assigned in the drama that unfolds throughout the weekend. At nearly five, Lena will undoubtedly provide the story line. Two-year old Ada will not be far behind. My guess is that the story told will have something to do with baby kittens.

I love Thanksgiving. I love this best of all holidays. I love being with family. Continue reading →

My cancer diagnosis came all at once. There was no waiting for test results, no need for a biopsy. It hit hard, a sledgehammer destroying in one blow a wall of good health that had always kept storms and danger at bay. Surgery was scheduled before we left the doctor’s office. There had been no symptoms, no concerns, just a routine test. We were stunned, dazed.

We went home and had lunch, and sometime that afternoon I went to the file cabinet next to the desk in the family room. I found the life insurance policy and for the first time ever, and never since, I read the entire thing.

When I tell that story, other cancer survivors often say, “Oh, you too.”

You have to do something, and reading the fine print in a life insurance policy is something to do. You may weep or you may rage or you may get out a bottle. Some people pretend it isn’t happening. You have to do something. Reading the fine print in a life insurance policy is probably a better thing to do than raging or drinking or denying. Continue reading →

The North Light, Green Bay, Menominee, Michigan

Sam is a friend of the sort whose friendship you cherish. His friendship is one of a handful of friendships God has used to shape and sustain me, to fill my life with joy. In some ways Sam and I are as different as night and day, but he is that Proverbs friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Becky and I met Sam and Debbie the day we were introduced to the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, Menominee, Michigan, as the new pastor and his wife. We had no idea how much time we would spend with Sam and Debbie over the course of the next five years. The four of us built a youth ministry; First Presbyterian had never seen such a youth group, and, yes, our own kids were a part of its success. Continue reading →

I know what I am talking about. I took this quiz on American politics a friend posted on Facebook and I aced it. 100% correct. I am told only one in fifty quiz takers do so well. They said I am a genius. I must know what I am talking about. Armed with such impressive credentials, then, I tell you I am optimistic about our political future.
 
A long time ago we survived the 12-year succession of Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. We ended it with someone named Abraham Lincoln. I believe the nation and the system that survived Warren G. Harding and Richard M. Nixon will make it through the vulgarity of a Donald Trump presidency or the corruption of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Continue reading →

Not far from where we live there’s a building that houses an “alternative learning center.”  I don’t know much about it, but it is advertized as a place that “… helps teenagers live and learn without school.” I am all for it.

Some teenagers just don’t do well in traditional schools. Alternatives are a good idea.

It’s pretty clear as you poke around the center’s website that their program is designed not just for kids who don’t do well in traditional schools, but especially for kids who have a serious antipathy towards traditional schools. Undoubtedly as many stories as students. Except we can’t call them students.

Just as the learning center is not a school, the teens are not students. Mostly they are referred to as teens, occasionally as “members.” There are no teachers, only mentors and a few workshop leaders. Students are not taught, teens learn. Teachers don’t teach, mentors guide. Continue reading →