Serve by Design

When I was a boy, I spent my summers building forts in a locust tree grove. The setting was just across the street from where I lived on an uncleared vacant lot. I never knew or even thought about who owned the property, but I have a feeling that the lot owner was grateful for the industriousness of the neighborhood boys. After all, we were saving him the trouble and cost of clearing out those thorny little trees! 😊 We used our imaginations every time we went to work. Usually, we were building a small community of shelters with a barrier or fence around it for protection. We pretended to be a party of hardy explorers setting up camp and building defense structures to protect it against any enemies, real or imagined! Hours of work sawing, knife scraping, trimming, and rope tying were invested in the project each day. We did not care how hot it was or how much we sweated! In our minds, we were adventurers creating a new world! At the end of the day, we would bathe, eat dinner, and ret

The hoopla surrounding this week’s solar eclipse was contagious! Even though I was nonchalantly saying to Monique, “Honey, we just saw a solar eclipse last October during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! For me, it’s just ‘Deja vu all over again!’” (Thank you, Yogi Berra!). However, as the event got closer, even I couldn’t resist the hype! "I see it!" At 12:55 pm Monday, we stepped outside, put on our eclipse glasses (a must have!), and stood by the side door of our garage. The view was perfect… at least for me! Mimi was trying to get her balance and crane her neck upwards, but she still couldn’t see the sun. I moved over next to her and gently moved her head even further up while coaching her to “Look way up!” Finally, she exclaimed, “I see it! It’s a crescent shape!” During the next thirty minutes or so, we enjoyed a partial eclipse! What was only a partial eclipse for us in central Illinois became a total eclipse for nearly 32 million in the 100-mile-wide pathway of total

I have been using all methods of persuasion throughout my years as a church leader. It involves verbal and nonverbal communication in formal and informal settings. I have presented ministry ideas on paper, through email, texts and over the telephone. There have been numerous one-on-one meetings with key individuals, and there have been even more meetings with committees, teams and multiple groups covering tasks with diverse responsibilities. Credit: vectorstock.com The goal behind all this activity has been to facilitate collaboration and hopefully gain “buy-in” to ideas, action plans, implementation strategies, and the advancement of the organization’s mission. I have found this process both exhilarating and exasperating. It requires patience, support, and openness to divergent ideas. The latter has always been a particular challenge to me and to my impatience! But I have found all of this to be a necessary process for getting things done! I have been a student of communication all

We recently had three grandsons for two nights and three days. Their parents and older sister were out of state visiting on a college tour. Although everyone lives nearby,   their busy schedules and ours as well don’t allow for as much one on one time with these guys that we all would like. Our “number one” in this family officially becomes a teenager on Friday of this week and he’s excited about that! His closest aged brother turned ten in January and their little brother is going to be eight in May. Adventure at the Pond! A Teenager's Homemade Crossbow! These are good boys who have had spiritual training since their birth. They are disciplined and becoming more independent these days. The family responsibility chart on their hall wall tells the story of accountability and partnership in household chores. They are polite and engaging when interacting with adults. Their parents are huggers and openly affectionate. It is not surprising that these brothers love, respect, and look out

I recently received a sympathy card with a meaningful note on the side page. It has had me thinking since I read it. Among other comforting words written, there was an especially touching sentence that simply said, “It’s difficult to speak to a pastor about the loss of their loved one, but the loss is still the same.” Those phrases “difficult to speak to a pastor” and “the loss is still the same” are still swirling around in my mind. I was so appreciative of these sentiments that I immediately called these friends. I wanted to express my thanks to them for taking the time to write those candid and hope-filled thoughts down for my comfort. Comfort One Another Credit: clipart-library.com After decades of service as a pastor in a half dozen churches from Texas to Illinois, I have often wondered how pastors sometimes make it difficult for their members to share comfort with them. Without intending to do this, I think we can build barriers by saying, “We’re doing okay. We have a lot of supp

When I think I am through writing about technology, then another “new thingy,” (at least to me!), comes along! Our middle-aged son, Marc, was recently in an Austin area Apple Store when he captured a moment that had him thinking about his own future. Apple does an excellent job of supporting their customers by giving new iPhone users a hands-on tutorial. The presentation involved a group of mostly senior adult newbies who were learning skills, like how to enlarge a text font, as well as where   to locate the “magnifier app” in utilities. The latter app was of interest to me because the fine print of grocery item labels is getting finer these days! It is another level of “shrink inflation!” "What's this thingy?" iPhone 101 - Marc K . Monique continues to teach as a substitute and often struggles using technology in the classroom. The younger students are more than happy to help guide her! 😊 At the end of this year, our local elementary school will have transitioned to us