Monthly Archives: November 2016

It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and our Sunday School teacher asked each of us to choose one thing for which we were thankful and share it with the class. I had to think about what I should express my … Continue reading →

As we near Thanksgiving, we are reminded to “count our blessings” and give thanks for what we have.  This is a good practice, even if you aren’t Christian, but God also instructs us to give thanks and praise.  Once again, … Continue reading →

Tuesday, the moon looked as large as it has since January 1948.  If you were able to see it through the clouds while it was still near the horizon it appeared especially large.  Even if you weren’t able to see … Continue reading →

It happens that someone asks us to pray for them. With all the training I had in seminary, we never discussed this common situation. I prayed for dozens and dozens of people before I learned to ask three important questions. … Continue reading →

I was watching a program on TV when a commercial came on.  I was only half listening, as I often do during commercials, when I realized that they were not saying thanksgiving, but they were saying thanks for giving.  What … Continue reading →

I sometimes find myself speaking as if talk were cheap, as if what I say in the spur of the moment doesn’t really matter. After all, I can take it back in the next sentence. But we know all too … Continue reading →

Back in 1986, when my kids were in their late teens, a new American rock band appeared on the scene.  Their name – “Hootie and the Blowfish”.   These four young men from South Carolina were a quick success with their … Continue reading →

The closest friends that Paulette and I had in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, were Jim and Marguerite (“Magee”) Drummond.  The friendship started when we moved in next door to them during the summer of 1973.  The day we moved in, Magee … Continue reading →

Today is a big day for JOY Lutheran Congregation.  Our Call Committee has recommended a primary candidate as our future pastor and our council has approved him.  Today we, as a congregation, get to find out who he is and … Continue reading →

There’s an email currently circulating asking what you’d do if you were given a daily gift of $86,400 deposited into your bank account each morning.  The catch is, at the end of the day, you lose whatever you don’t spend … Continue reading →