Serve by Design

I’m not accustomed to seeing very many Mourning Doves in the springtime. Many hunters in our area like to harvest these bullet-fast birds for sport and food in September. I do know that it takes a good mess of dove’s breasts to make a delicious bread-dressing recipe! I have read and understand, though, that many of the eleven varieties of the dove species, who habitat in Illinois, do not migrate, but spend their winters in the Prairie State. In late April and early May of each year, doves begin building nests and mating in earnest. Mourning Doves receive their name from their low and soothing mating call that sounds like a lament or sorrowful song. Some have mistaken this sound for an owl! I looked out the kitchen window recently and saw one of these beautiful birds gracefully moving about our rock patio. It was pecking and foraging for small seeds. Ornithologists say that a dove eats up to twenty percent of their body weight daily! That’s incredible to me! The dove plays a prominent...

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)...

Months ago, we received news predicting that May through mid-June 2024 would be the optimum time for the thirteen to seventeen-year cycle of Cicadas. After making their appearance, we were told to brace for the invasion and especially the deafening noise that their mating calls would evoke. Experts said that if we could ignore them during the height of the season, it would soon be all over. Once their mating ends and the females lay their eggs…mission accomplished! "What you looking at, Willis?" Last Saturday, we took a short, forty-five-minute road trip east to a Decatur-area Walmart. It would be in this setting that we would have our first encounter with the annoying, buzzing, and even frightening Cicada invasion. After we had just parked in front of the store, and opened our car doors, we heard   blood curdling screams from three little girls approximately 3 or 4 years old. We presumed they were siblings and could see that their mother was trying to quickly get them into t...

I am out of my skill set when it comes to anything electrical! I feel a lot more comfortable with tools like wrenches, ratchets, and pliers. Those are the instruments of automobile mechanics like my dad and brother that are used every day in their shop. I have shied away from wiring, outlets, breakers, and the like. One reason is that it’s no fun getting accidentally shocked, and I have had that unpleasant experience! However, occasionally, I will venture out of my comfort zone and engage in a “Do It Yourself” small electrical project. Yesterday was one of those occasions! I have changed out duplex outlets a few times in the two houses we have owned over the last 36 years. That morning, I had told the local hardware store salesman who sold me the outlet and a lamp socket too, (for another project), “I am not comfortable with this kind of stuff, but I can follow my nose!” In other words, I can see what the old one looked like and then replicate what I see to reconnect the new one. As a ...

I have been the recipient of a very special Christmas ornament for several years now. As December comes around each year, I watch and wait for it to arrive. I have two dear Texas friends who make this gifting possible - Wanda and Deborah Crossland. Back in the days of my seminary education, Wanda served on the search committee that called me to FBC Granbury as an associate pastor. Her daughter, Debbie, became one of Monique’s closest friends. Now, forty-five years later, Wanda and Debbie continue to be two cherished friends and encouragers! "Welcome to Songfest!" The ornament arrived the other day and took its place on my little Christmas tree that sits prominently in the family room on top of a media shelf. These uniquely crafted ornaments (on sale at the Capitol Gift Shop) promote the Texas Preservation Board that “ensures the preservation and use of the State Capitol Old General Land Office Building in Austin.”  Each year these collectibles have a special theme. The 2022 T...

The matter of family history has come up many times during our recent visit with my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, a French citizen. She has been gathering facts and photos on our Breffort family for some time now. Many of these resources are from close family members who are still alive and able to recall their conversations with those who have passed away. Some memories are passed down through oral stories by extended family. And other sources are hand-written government documents that specifically record the dates, settings and names of family. It is often tedious and time consuming to record a family history. It is also painful to consider some of the losses that occurred during times of war. The Breffort's Sons: Lucien (left) and André Mother: Jeanne (center), Daughter: Mireille (right front) I did not realize that Monique, Phil and Elizabeth's grandmother, Mireille Breffort, had tragically lost both of her brothers during World War I and that these beloved family members were ...

Since my teenage years, I have been visiting a beautiful retreat setting in Southern Illinois for spiritual enrichment. Lake Sallateeska is a denominationally-operated facility about seven miles north of Pinckneyville. It has a small and tranquil lake surrounded by several buildings and becomes a setting throughout the year where church groups, individuals and families of all ages gather for rest, recreation, fellowship and of course, the study of God’s Word. We need such places where we can retreat from time-to-time to replenish our weary spirits! Tranquility and Snoring! "The calm before the storm!" For some thirty years now, I have been an active part of a pastors’ fellowship affectionately known as the “Majestic Fraternity".  At its inception, the “fraternity” regularly numbered around fifty pastors and associate ministers. We have hosted some very well-known and capable scholars that have taught us in what used to be a three-day conference of serious and concentrate...