I have a pain in my neck. And thanks for your advice on what ails me, but it’s being taken care of. The practitioner who’s helping the pain go away thinks it is stress-induced. He barely knows me. Unfortunately, I know me, and I think he may be right. And, again, thanks for your advice on what ails me, I’ve already received the best advice available. Continue reading
How can we worry about impeachment when the Megxit story continues to unfold?
In case you have been off-planet for the past few weeks, Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have decided to call it quits on cutting ribbons and waving to crowds. The press has dubbed it Megxit. Oh, the pay is good and the hours aren’t bad, but it’s a younger brother job and there’s not much future in it. Harry and Meghan want out.
Apparently, the prodigal prince plans on gathering his young family and the bit of the inheritance he calls his own and taking a journey into a far country. It turns out that Canada is the far country of choice. But not all Canadians are sure they should welcome Harry, Meghan, and the no longer senior royalty entourage. Maybe Canadians just don’t like the prospect of reckless living. Continue reading
It’s like one of those stories of the unexpected check arriving in the mail and it’s exactly the amount you need to pay the bill of the unexpected expense. I would dismiss such stories as just too cheesy except for Becky and I having experienced just such grace many years ago in our tight budget years.
This is a story with less of the unexpected, but more of seeing grace and its amazing work.
Chapter one begins nearly a decade ago and mostly is not my story to tell, but for the fact that at the very end I have a small role to play. One of our LPC physicians had walked with a patient on a long journey through what would be a terminal illness. The care given was the best medicine could provide, but, more, it was personal and caring and filled with faith. In time our doctor would share his Christian faith with a faithful patient and her family and friends. The patient would speak of God’s presence in her life even through the darkest times. Our doctor prayed with her and sometimes when appointments and procedures were scheduled around the doctor’s mission trips to Guatemala, he spoke of his sense of calling and the joy he found in following Christ to that faraway place.
When death’s dark shadow finally fell, family and friends – and the physician – grieved deeply, but not as those without hope. Continue reading
“The rise of the nones” is the attention-grabbing phrase used to describe the well-documented increase in the percentage of Americans who, when queried by survey researchers about their religious identification, say “none.”
So begins a recent report from Gallup. As is frequently noted, the “rise of the nones” is not necessarily the “rise of the atheists.” In fact, for all the noise made by the celebrity atheists, atheism is not doing much better than organized religion in capturing the affection and loyalty of modern Americans. Simply put, when the pollster asks one of us to check a box to describe our religious identity fewer of us are checking Catholic or Protestant (mainline or evangelical), Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. More and more of us are choosing “none of the above.” Hence, the “rise of the nones.” Continue reading
Our God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.
The words are from Isaac Watt’s hymn interpretation of Psalm 90. They have spoken to the hearts of God’s people since the Psalmist first wrote them and for 300 years as English speaking Christians have sung them.
Should the Lord honor our plans, 2020 will be the year I cross the finish line as my 45 years of full-time ministry come to an end. Becky and are looking forward with eager expectation to the next season of life with our faithful God; he is, indeed, our hope for years to come. The year undoubtedly will bring reflections on his help in years past, as well. Continue reading