My friend Rein died this past Tuesday.  Some of you knew him and some did not. Those who knew Rein will remember him with a thousand stories and much laughter mingled with our sorrow. Rein was one of those people whose presence filled the room, whose way of doing things was just part of who he was. He made us laugh. The contours of his life from his birth in Nazi-occupied Holland to the loss of a leg as a college athlete to his successes in business and community work to his faithfulness in and to the church are of the stuff that inspire us. His beloved Brenda and their family was always his greatest joy.

Many of us called Rein a friend and, yes, we will remember him with a thousand stories. Continue reading →

One of the psalter readings for the morning comes from Psalm 16:

Psalm16:5-6
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Becky and I are in Washington state spending some time with our daughter-in-law Katie an h children while our son Christopher is away at officer training school in preparation for his service as an active duty Air Force chaplain.

We thank God for our beautiful inheritance!

And from the Proverbs:

Proverbs 17:6
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.

My observations for today!

Bill

They are building new houses all over our neighborhood. Across the street, next door, around the corner in the newest section of the development. Becky and I are active spectators of the sport.  Slab or basement, I’m pretty good at figuring out whether it will be a two-story or single-story house (two-story houses tend to have a smaller footprint). Once the framing is up, we like to walk through the soon-to-be spaces imagining what they will be – master bedroom or living area, den or dining room. And, yes, as construction continues, we can be quite the critics. We would not have chosen that color and that architectural detail is more doodad than not.

The building process always begins with some basic site work and then the forms, footings, and foundation.  Slab or basement, once the foundation is poured, the work stops for a while.  Framing cannot begin until the concrete is cured, and curing takes two weeks or more.  You must have a firm foundation in order to build a trustworthy house.

That’s where Hunter Biden comes in. Continue reading →

Watching the Friday morning chapel service from Hunting Park Christian Academy in Philadelphia has become a helpful habit during this year of the pandemic.

Raising a child in the Hunting Park neighborhood of North Philadelphia can be difficult. For more than twenty years, HPCA has offered “an affordable, quality, Christian education that celebrates a diverse community and leads children to know and serve the Lord” to the Hunting Park community. Getting to know HPCA and its work and some of its people was a great joy for Becky and me during our time in the Philadelphia area.

Pre-covid, I might make it to an HPCA chapel service once or twice a year. I would leave thinking I ought to go more often, and then I never did.

HPCA quickly and amazingly adopted a virtual education strategy last spring at the beginning of the pandemic and has been using a creative hybrid model for its classes throughout this academic year.  Only half the students are in the building on any given day, so chapel has remained a virtual event which is particularly good for people who live 600 miles away. Continue reading →

With apologies to Robert Frost,
Two routes diverged on Google Maps, and I—
I took the one less traveled by.

I attended a presbytery-sponsored workshop Saturday, and it was well-worth the 85-mile drive to get there. I had not been to the church in northwest Ohio where the workshop was held, so I asked Google Maps to show me the way. Instead of the closest 85-mile route, however, Google recommended a 101-mile route that would save ten minutes of travel time. Once I hit I-469 north of Fort Wayne, my journey would be mostly by interstate or four-lane highway. 70 MPH.

Two routes diverged on Google Maps, and I— I took the one less traveled by. County roads and state highways, I never saw four lanes, and the best I could do was 55 MPH. Or so. But I had to slow down as I drove through Hicksville and Ottawa, Ohio, pretty little towns. Mostly, though, my road less travelled took me through farm country.  White framed farmhouses, red painted barns, and tall silos. And fields, mile after mile of fields. Some of the fields were still littered with the dry remains of last year’s corn crop, others were freshly plowed, and a few of them shimmered green in the early spring sunshine – a new crop, soybeans maybe? Continue reading →