Serve by Design

During our Texas vacation, I walked in the neighborhood each morning before sunrise. My usual workout at home involves the treadmill and recumbent bicycle. Since summers in the Lone Star State can be brutal, I prefer a somewhat “cooler” walk at 5:30am when the temperature is 80 degrees instead of 107 degrees after lunchtime! Every morning I enjoy meeting several residents walking along with their dogs on a leash. These various sized canines are eager to be outside, sniffing the smells and wagging their tails. Image credit: stock.adobe.com This week,   while driving home from the grocery store, we encountered a different approach to an afternoon stroll. It was something spectacular!   A young preteen was riding his bike uphill through the busy neighborhood intersection. What made this so unusual was that this young guy was also holding the left handlebar grip while gripping a remote control with the same hand. I don’t know how he did it, but he reached across the bars with his ...

I recently had another scheduled procedure where they have to put you out and into a twilight sleep condition. I have been in similar states throughout the years for an appendectomy and joint replacement surgery as well as during treatments for cancer. There is always a risk in putting you in such a condition, but I have learned that I must trust my doctor, anesthesiologist, and others who assist them if I am to receive the necessary health procedures. Image Credit: unsplash.com I learned years ago as an eleven-year-old boy how to trust God for salvation and to deal with my sin condition. Trust is one of the most essential exercises of a believer. In the Bible, faith is spoken of repeatedly as the key in our relationship with the Lord, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him, must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6 NIV ). We are living in a day of skepticism, doubt and fear. We are s...

We have just turned the corner on a New Year. I have transitioned to a new desk appointment book and hung a new wall calendar in the kitchen for doctor appointments and Monique's teaching schedule. We even received a unique calendar from our young and gracious server at the local Hibachi Grill and Chinese-American buffet. The latter has found its place on a wall downstairs near my library and sermon files. The server seemed so proud when she came to bring us the check after our meal the other day and then surprised us with this mystery box labeled with Chinese symbols. I thought at first it might have contained a fresh supply of chop sticks and was glad it didn't because I get a cramp in my hand each time I try to use them! Upon closer observation, I could see that there were words in English at the bottom of the box indicating that this contained a wall calendar. I was pleasantly surprised by the colorful picture of a snaking dragon-like creature that was depicted on the...