Introduction In 1982, I had been serving for two years as the church planter and founding pastor of a church in a small but growing suburb in Texas. The members and attenders had moved to the area from several different states. Their cultures and religious backgrounds were varied but their desire for community had brought them to our church. We had just moved into our first permanent building and Christmas was only a few weeks away. Was there a way that through understand

This week many families will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. From the harvest feast in 1621 shared by the English colonists and the Wampanoag people to Abraham Lincoln declaring Thanksgiving Day to be a national holiday to 2025, the celebration of Thanksgiving has gone through many variations. In many gatherings, the practice of giving thanks will be overshadowed by football and food. In other gatherings, some families will take the cue of the day to share their thankfuln

Having lived most of my life in Texas, preparation for winter was not a major endeavor. But life in Colorado is considerably different. Our lawn sprinkler system was shut down and the lines blown out about two weeks ago. Hoses have all been disconnected from the hose bibs so that inside pipes won't possibly break. Our furnace has been serviced and is working well. The bears in Colorado are foraging for food up to 20 hours per day seeking 20,000 calories per day to add 60

Have you ever considered what your life would be like if God answered every prayer you prayed with a positive response? You and I often pray with little thought to the full consequences of a positive answer. We do not know what tomorrow holds much less a few weeks, months, or years in the future. As a teenager, I heard a sermon on prayer. Our preacher said that God answers prayer as "Yes," "No," or "Not Yet." He went on to say that a "Yes" answer may come with some revisi

(Almost two years ago, I started this blog with a working title of "Less Traveled" based on two sources - Robert Frost's poem "The Road...

Country singer Mac Davis from Lubbock, Texas, wrote and recorded "It Is Hard to Be Humble." In 1980, this song became an international...

There is an old joke about a pastor asking children a question during a Children's Sermon one Sunday morning. He asked if any of the...

I enjoy reading many types of literature. When reading a mystery, I am often caught off guard with the turn of a page. Something that I...

When the word rest is spoken, most of us immediately think of a good night's sleep or a nap. Physical rest is a very important part of...

Some surveys today proclaim that religion is either declining or close to extinction. My opinion is just the opposite. I believe that...

There are countless areas of life that we are constantly measuring to determine if we are making progress. Parents make a pencil mark on...

We live in a neighborhood in a fairly large city. Our neighborhood has a diverse mix of people, houses, cars, and dogs. One unusual...

One of the techniques I use to try and keep my mind sharp (or at least not too dull) is to work Sudoku puzzles. These nine-square...

According to recent studies, there are over 1,022,000 words in the English language. Before you despair, only about 171,476 of them are...

On the first and the fifteenth of each month I pay our household bills. I carefully check the numbers on the bills and then make sure...

On Friday here in Colorado Springs, the day was cold, hazy, and drizzly. That same weather pattern continued over night and into the...

I am writing this on Palm Sunday which is the official start of Holy Week or Passion Week. Palm Sunday recalls Jesus' triumphal entry...

Do you ever reach a point in a project, a vocation, or a process when you simply have to start over? Over the fifteen months that I have...

On Friday, March 28, 2025, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in Mandalay, Myanmar, struck leaving 1644 dead, 139 missing, and...

Many products today come with some type of guarantee. Some weight loss products make statements like "Take our product and you are...