Serve by Design

It has been an interesting week celebrating a new beginning and accepting a needful closure. First, the celebration. Our oldest granddaughter just officially became an adult earlier this month and has begun to take general study classes at the community college. I was blessed to take her to the first day of classes and then retrieve her at the end of her day. She shared her excitement and jitters on the way and was full of stories on the way back home. I enjoyed the one-on-one time with this smart and beautiful grandchild as she officially begins her new chapter as a college first-year student. I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about the future of these Gen Z grands! Image: vecteezy.com The closure mentioned earlier is about me. I have decided to retire as a workplace chaplain. For seven years now, I have enjoyed my weekly service in a local senior living facility, calling and connecting with truck drivers from a major food distribution company, and many other special assignments...

Lately, I have been blessed to hear stories about a new excitement for God’s Word! One of our college grandsons started a Bible study with his close friends. They meet online weekly and discuss some weighty subjects relevant to today’s young men like how to live the Christian life, confront doubt. and deal with temptation. Our granddaughter has just completed a summer service project in discipleship, worship planning, and faith sharing with young adults from her peer group who are in the eighteen to twenty-something age range. Image: freepik.com Last Saturday, I participated in a refreshing training event for our church’s small group leaders. I met a delightful young couple who lead a new group. They are excited about reading the book of James and discussing the topics of faith, listening, and service; using speech responsibly; dealing with adversity; and the impact of bold praying. Their intention was to study a chapter each session, but they have slowed down to just a few verses to g...

I wore my favorite baseball cap at the state fair yesterday! Nothing new. It’s comfortable and protects my thin-haired head from too much sun! What is interesting is how a logo on a hat can prompt such reactions especially since this team is barely playing .500 ball. I do confess that I’ve been a little hyped by how my team has just grinded out a series win with one of our historic rivals. We’ve even found a way to piece together a meager, but welcomed two-game winning streak! Image: istockphoto.com One reaction came as we walked past some rowdy musicians playing on a nearby stage. They were belting out an engaging rock song when I looked up and saw one of the band members gesture while singing. Then he surprised me with a shout-out “Hey, I like your hat!” I gave him the thumbs up with delight. Another fairgoer cryptically questioned as he strolled by, “Do you have a license to wear that hat?” Monique quickly replied, “Well, we won last night!” I’m still trying to figure out what all t...

It’s not what you think! I sensed a problem with the hot side of our kitchen faucet while washing the Sunday dishes. The water is usually uncomfortably hot, but this time it was barely warm. After going downstairs to inspect the water heater, I could immediately see a puddle of water under the unit and streams leading to the sump pump nearby. Are you in hot water? Early Monday, I called our service provider about scheduling a plumber. As I described the situation to the dispatcher, she suspected that our twenty-something-year-old unit had failed! It was comforting to hear that they’d service us later that afternoon. While I was mowing outside in the morning, Monique busied herself with some bookkeeping. We only felt a little inconvenienced when we tried to clean up the noon hour dishes. It’s obvious that we are spoiled by having “running water” when 2.2 billion throughout the world live daily with the stress of unsafely managed and inaccessible drinking water! (Source: worldbank.org)...