Serve by Design

We have two members of our family who are in a serious decision time in their lives. They are in that exciting liminal or threshold point of determining God’s will for their lives. More specifically, these men are praying about what the call of God looks like at the next chapter in their journey of ministry. One is sixteen and a half years-old and ready to wrap up his high school years, and the other is in his late forties and quite familiar with the unfolding of God’s plan for his life. He has a college education and some serious Bible study behind him along with plenty of work and life experiences that have shaped him. Credit: Jesus Loves Austin unsplash.com I have been at a similar juncture several times throughout the last sixty years since I first stood before my home church and surrendered my life for special service. That’s how intentionally broad the commitment to ministry looked like for me as a fifteen-year-old teenager. I had a lot to discover about the dynamic and ever-unfo...

At the senior living facility where I serve as a chaplain, I have recently heard some mysterious sounds like birds chirping each time I have visited. I thought at first that the sound might have come from one of the safety alarms on the ceiling. The longer this strange phenomenon went on the more I became confused. Credit: shutterstock.com When I asked one of my “go-to guys” where that whistling chirping sound was coming from and if he could hear it, he said, “Oh yes, but I don’t always pay attention to it. That sound comes from Angel, one of our CNA’s, who’s here today for her shift!” I exclaimed, “How does she do that? It sounds so realistic!” My friend gave me his best deadpan response, “It’s a gift, I guess!” This week I got to see and hear this gifted and popular caregiver in action and up close. While Angel whistled her delightful chirping like a professional, I looked up from the table where I was chatting with three resident friends. Angel was leaning over the stair banister ...