At the Drumming Circle I asked you all to pray for my Mom. I asked that you pray that Jesus would answer her longing to go home to be with him. Mom's dementia got worse and worse and on Saturday night she fell. The caregivers called the paramedics and it was determined that she likely had fractured her other hip. One of the paramedics called me to ask if…

Somewhere along the way we have lost nuance. It has almost completely disappeared from our cultural interactions. You are either for women's rights or you are a baby killer. You are either a proponent of Black Lives Matter or a racist. You are pro second amendment rights or a communist trying to steal guns from law abiding citizens. You are homophobic or you must be for gay marriage. Vaccinating…

She had wheeled herself up near the piano and was listening to us sing for awhile. Her one arm hung uselessly at her side and with the other she maneuvered the chair close behind us. She asked if she could join in. It was a childlike questioning voice coming from a scrunched up cherubic face that was filled with doubt as to whether or not she'd be welcomed. Of…

Thanks to all who continue to pray for Erica, the mother of Terra and Jolie who are goddaughters to our son, Justin, and therefore grandchildren to us. Erica has been going through tons of medical testing and procedures to determine what is going on with her heart. It has been determined that her condition is related to an 'electrical' problem with her heart probably brought on by some sort…

Sometimes you just have to laugh. Not the polite little chuckle or a polite smiling nod. No, you have to really laugh. Laugh so hard you cry. Laugh in the face of pain and suffering and hopelessness and helplessness. Laugh what Dad used to call a 'good old fashioned belly laugh'. Sometimes you have to laugh like that because if you don't, the depths of despair would suck you…

Withered flowers beside the road, muddied bouquets of memories, tattered stuffed animals, cards of scribbled regret, stand like slaughtered soldiers, weather beaten sentinels, awaiting the slow slog of justice, a murky tide to come rolling in, if it ever does, bringing justice for all. Meanwhile cries for retribution echo, hoping somehow vengeance satisfies, though it never does, only pouring more cut flowers onto other piles of grief, multiplying screams…

When I was a teenager I choked a kid until he was unconscious. If my Dad hadn't pulled me away I would have killed him. The kid had made fun of my Dad, who was often sickly and unable to do what other dads were able to do, and I decided to shut the kid up. I was outraged at the awful things he said about the Dad I…

The Thursday morning before the Friday we leave for a week away in Alberta, Canada the pest control guy knocks on our door and informs us that there is water leaking from the foundation of the house. A pipe is broken and water is pouring out so I quickly call the home warranty people who dispatch a plumber immediately who tells us that according to paragraph c, section 14,…

When I was a kid we ate stewed tomatoes on bread. We'd take a slice of bread, slather some butter on it, pour heated up stewed tomatoes over it and call it dinner. I hated it. Sometimes we had it several times a week. I thought it was pure torture. Of course, we weren't permitted to complain. We were poor and it was sustenance and it fulfilled God's promise…

While observing the gay marriage debate or the legalization of pot issue or other such 'progressive' trends, I constantly hear those favoring change charging their counterparts as being on the wrong side of history. Cloaking one's self in the robes of enlightenment while painting the opposition as living in the dark ages is a most common debate tactic designed to shut down reasoned argument and thus 'win'. It works…

Eric and I were talking about the Village recently and we started to talk about spiritual gifts. Certain churches are dominated by certain gifts. Some churches are extremely type A and may be dominated by gifts of administration and leadership. Others are more laid back and service oriented and may have many who share the gifts of helps and giving. Still others may have lots of folks with gifts…

Zeke told me that his brother, Christopher, had caught a 'dead koi fish'. I listen to this fish tale with a bit of a smile and then Zeke asked me if I could tell Reuben about catching the 'dead koi fish'. I called Reuben over and told him about this amazing catch. Zeke was listening excitedly and was thrilled that our resident fisherman was congratulating him on his brother's…

When you grow stir crazy, you'll do almost anything to get out of the house. I needed to cash a check and make a deposit so I bribed my kid to drive me through the bank drive through with the promise of running through McDonalds on our way home. He agreed and off we went. It was so good to get out of the house. At McDonalds I had…

"Be careful what you ask for..." Mom always said. Mom is almost always right about these sorts of things and I would be wise to listen. I'm bored flopped out on the couch sucking down pain medication and watching television all day long. People come and visit and that is awesome because it breaks the monotony. Being the whiner that I am, I tell folks about how bored I…

Well, I screwed up. I went to my surgeon for my first follow up visit on Friday and I told him that I was only taking the muscle relaxants morning and evening and that I had almost weaned myself completely off the narcotic pain killers. The pain has been tough to manage, but I was managing it and was quite proud of myself for doing so. I was excited…

I recently wrote a letter to the editor in response to an article where a local doctor had advocated for 'death with dignity' for people suffering from the various forms of dementia. In it I suggested there was nothing dignified about death, I declared it to be the enemy that it is. A woman who served as a chaplain responded by castigating me and talking about all the beautiful…