When I was a kid, my dad was connected to a church camp near a local lake. It was a rustic camp experience. Originally, there was a Quonset that housed the kitchen and supplies. Campers slept on cots in teepees, mostly cooked outdoors, and experienced nature up close and personal. Like the time a skunk […]
On our last trip to Haiti, I took a picture of a row of our water bottles. We just take water for granted. The local water there isn’t safe for us to drink, so we buy five-gallon jugs of “Culligan” water and use that water for drinking, brushing teeth, or cooking. It’s so easy to […]
My work takes me to Nashville, two or three times a year. Near the hotel where I usually stay is a nice walking path. It surrounds a golf course, goes through a wooded area, and crosses a meandering creek. When it is nice out, there are a number of people out walking or biking on […]
This was one of those weeks. Two people died unexpectedly. Neither I knew well, but well enough. The brother of one of my good friends fell down a flight of steps, suffered significant injuries, and it didn’t end well. The other was a person I’d served on a community board with and died very unexpectedly […]
There was a monastery and one of the requirements of this religious order was that the young men must maintain silence. Opportunities to speak were scheduled once every two years, at which time they were allowed to speak only two words. A young monk completed his first two years of training and was invited by […]
I am a product of the plains. Lived in the tree-less, ocean-less, mountain-less parts of the world my entire life. So it seems like we head for treed or mountained or oceaned parts of the world when we can. This past week I’ve traveled to Maine and Florida. Definitely treed and oceaned places, and incredibly […]
When our son was almost two years old, we were camping and he spent the day picking up rocks. He picked up one near the campfire that actually turned out to be a coal. It was a painful lesson for our son. And for us. There are lessons that only can be learned by going […]
We attended the graduation of Dr. William, a medical student in the Dominican Republic. On our first full day there, we decided to go see the ocean. It is about an hour and a half drive from Santiago to the beach. We hired a driver and William borrowed a car from a friend. While grateful […]
The first Sunday of Advent is one of Hope. I asked friends to help me and to post – what do you hope for? Some of the responses were: Kindness A new job Harmony Love for one another Progress on climate talks Peace Hope for the world, people, the church Good health World without terror […]
People have said I tend to over-think things. OK, it was my wife. Have also been asked why I like baseball so much. Ok, that was my wife too. So to confirm I over-think things, here is why I think baseball reflects life: Even the best hitters in baseball are average. Hall of Fame player […]