After driving most of the day on Friday, April 23, the family stopped at a steakhouse just south of Memphis, Tennessee, for a day-late birthday dinner for yours truly. The food was great, the service cheery and timely, and the little “Hey y’all, we have a very special person in the house tonight” birthday song didn’t embarrass me all that much. After dinner, we got back in our vehicles and drove to Jackson, Mississippi, for a nice overnighter...

Spent a few days last week at Shiloh. Laura and I had to go to the farm to take care of some business, and our 4-year-old grandson, Ivan, tagged along for his first multi-day stay in the cabin — without his mom and dad and older brother. We had a blast!...

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no (prophetic) vision the people perish (or cast off restraint) ... but blessed is he who keeps the law.” … I believe this speaks of revelation knowledge (prophetic vision), and about keeping God’s word...

So … Having chosen an option that pretty well leaves us to our own devices concerning our new forever home, I find myself filling the role of a contractor...

Falling short, or what some people call being inadequate in certain areas, is a difficult experience. I can tell you from personal experience, it is not a very comfortable feeling. And, as we all know, falling short can take on many forms. At times, we have such feelings because we’ve been criticized too much. ...

Well, as you all know, it’s incredibly cold and wintery outside. I read on social media where someone was saying they were wishing winter would be over. I immediately thought about something Laura says a lot -— something her mother used to say: If wishes were horses, beggars could ride...

"We Are Free"...

I just came through another sleepless night. It was one of those nights when I just could not stop my mind from rambling all around. Mostly I was thinking about everything that is going on in our nation: about the situation last week at our nation’s capitol; about what could turn out to be a pretty messy transfer of power come January 20; about all those who wait in the darkness to see where they will fit into whatever happens next...

When I hear someone talking about the “magic” of the Christmas season, these days, I think about the miracle of the conception, birth, life, death and resurrection of one Jesus of Nazareth. But when I was a much younger individual living a mere stone’s throw from the center of Kansas City, Missouri, the magic was all about the amazing Christmas decorations downtown...

Everyone’s a prodigal, a rebel and bound to roam. Trying hard to find a friend, a long, long way from home...

I was sorry to learn — this past Saturday morning — of the death of Texas singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker on Friday, Oct, 23, 2020. Walker was 78 years old and had been a guiding light in the early Austin music scene and in Texas music — and just music in general. ...

When I was a much younger man, I once made a trip to the local municipal court in downtown Kansas City to argue my innocence concerning a traffic ticket I had received. I worked in a tall office building near Crown Center, and I worked the night shift. ...

We had a great time as a family one recent Sunday. All of the kids — with the exception of Amy, Stephen and Augustus out in California (missed them immensely) — stopped by for a few hours. No plans. No agenda. Just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company...

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “heritage” in these terms: "features belonging to the culture of a particular society, such as traditions, languages, or buildings, that were created in the past and still have historical importance."...

Wow! We’ve been trying to downsize — you know —get rid of “stuff” that we haven’t used or needed for ages. Yep. That kind of downsizing. And, believe me, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I had boxes of sermon notes and columns from years of ministry and writing. ...

There are days … I think you probably know the kind of days I speak of. I have days when I know I need to get to work putting words on paper for an upcoming deadline; moments when I think “now is the time” and by the time I fire up the computer my mind fills up with thoughts that won’t line up into a train that takes me where I think I want to go...

A week or two ago I wrote about what seems like a trend to undermine the church in America. I spoke of the orders in California that, at first, banned singing in churches and other houses of worship. Then, the same governor banned gathering for church services altogether. I also wrote that I am praying this nonsense does not become a trend across our great nation...

During these days of stay-at-home, isolation, seclusion, social distancing, shelter-in-place, quarantine, and virtual lock-down, Americans have learned how easy it is to practice something they probably thought they weren’t really cut out for: obedience...

They are always there. At times we hardly notice them. Sometimes, more often than not, we take them for granted. But we sure notice when they are “under construction” or if there is “road work ahead” or if some river becomes angry and decides to swallow a few miles of asphalt on its way downstream. ...

My heart breaks. My heart breaks for the souls and the families of those who have been murdered by overzealous, rogue police officers across our nation. My heart breaks for those whose businesses, homes and lives are now being devastated by the rioting, looting and — yes — killing going on across our nation, supposedly in the name of protests against police brutality. ...