Serve by Design

It was only two days away from Halloween and the local grocery store already had a display featuring a row of one of the Christmas time favorites – “Premium Fruit Cake!” Yes, this one was extra special and premium! Why is it that bakers feel like they must add additional adjectives to describe their holiday cakes? Your Old Favorite! Not Mine!! Let’s be more realistic and say, “Here it is again… your old favorite, making its annual trek around the world to your table!” There are a good many of us who believe that there is only one fruitcake that’s being passed around and re-gifted during Christmas season to unsuspecting fruit cake-loving folks! I have a brother-in-law who will, like me, eat almost anything. He says, “I can even eat hominy, but I don’t prefer it!” That’s the way I am about fruitcake. I can eat it, but why?! I’d rather eat a pecan pie or some good creamy fudge or homemade pecan brittle during the holidays! I recently attended a Bible retreat with some pastor friends...

I have often written about the impact of ideation on one of my favorite beverages – Dr Pepper! It wasn’t too long ago that I was snookered into buying Dr Pepper: Dark Berry Zero Sugar! I hated it and couldn’t give it away! This new attempt at ideation is another one I will be quickly sending off to the idea-garbage heap! This latest one was inspired by a TikTok campaign aided by the likes of Sonic Drive-In’s who are adding dill pickles to the sacred Dr Pepper formula! This is just wrong! What is this world coming to?? Static Media: shutterstock.getty.com The slogan “new and improved” may be the motto for product ideation, but I vigorously resist any attempts to cater to a sour-pickle-cult-following of social media “noodle heads” who want to mess with my Dr Pepper! Surely there are better ways to generate new ideas and at the same time protect the integrity of a product without going crazy! Now, I have no problem with ideation when it comes to Blue Bell Ice Cream choosing to add a new...

This past week, we just concluded the season on the Christian calendar referred to as Twelfthtide or the 12 Days of Christmas. One of our pastors reminded us on Sunday, New Years Eve, that technically, Christmas was not yet over! I suspect that he had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he addressed primarily the youth and children and suggested that they could still take advantage of this in the remaining days leading up to Epiphany on January 6th!😉  "This was marked down and I couldn't pass it up!" Marc texted. What was your favorite gift of the Christmas season? What gift did you give to another that received a special response? I doubt that it was a fruitcake! Am I right? Just a few days ago, I received a picture and text from our good-humored son, Marc. He was weighing in after Christmas as to why he was able to just now purchase a discounted fruitcake at the local Texas HEB grocery store. I teased him by responding, “You do know why it was discounted, don’t you?!...

Recently, we had a surprise visit from our son, Marc and our soon to be eighteen-year-old grandson, Ben. It was their second visit in just over a month. Since they live in Texas, it was a rare treat to have them with us at both Thanksgiving, and then again, a shorter two-day visit just after the new year to accompany me to the St. Louis Auto Show. "Giddy Up, Cowboy!" When Ben was here before Christmas, we caught him having a “rocking horse connection” and we laughed at the time. The old horse has complemented our family room, Texas décor, most of Ben’s childhood. I’m sure he can’t recall a time when it was not in its place in front of the French doors. During a second and recent time of connection, we were able to get a photo of him in a state of contemplation while looking at his cell phone. As you would imagine, his long legs were dangling down to the floor for support. In truth, he outgrew the old horse a long time ago!😃 We didn’t know nor did we ask what was on Ben’s min...

I was not exposed to a strong liturgical type of worship experience during my teenage years. However, at the larger than average First Baptist Church in our county seat town, we did have elements in the service that included: robed choir anthems, well thought out pastoral prayers followed by beautiful choral amens, response readings involving the congregation, organ preludes and postludes and a strictly followed and printed order of service. We followed the admonition of the Apostle Paul who taught, “Be sure that everything is done properly and in order!” (1 Corinthians 14:40, NLT ). A Happy Face! Last Sunday, we returned to my hometown on Father’s Day and attended another fine church where my dad is a member. Over the past years, their worship service has morphed into a more blended service of traditional and contemporary elements. Like many churches today, the words to the songs and Scripture readings were on video screens. The service included a couple of the old favorite hymns mi...

I have a mileage tracker feature on my iPhone that reminds me each Sunday morning how many minutes it takes for us to drive to church. It is not an app that I intentionally downloaded, but it came with a recent operating system upgrade. A notification is displayed as my device is synced with the car’s Bluetooth. After getting behind the wheel, I usually prop my phone up in a prominent position on the console. The next time I look at it as I pull out of the garage, I see this reminder on the screen: “18 minutes to 2941 S. Koke Mill Rd.” That is the address of our church, Springfield First. Pretty neat, isn’t it?! Worship Image Credit: Edward Cisneros unspash.com Back in the day, I remember preschool children singing, “I like to go to church. I like to go to church. I like the happy songs we sing. I like to go to church.” As a pastor, I loved to see the happy expressions of joyful anticipation when children entered the church and ran down the hallway to their morning classes each Lord’s ...

Marc and I made a quick trip to Vandalia just days before Christmas so he could eat breakfast with Grandpa Joe. Living in Texas means that he doesn’t get the opportunity to catch up with his 92-year-old grandfather as often as he would like. Marc has always been a family guy. I refer to him as our middle child since he was born between his older brother and his twin sisters. As a result of his birth order, he has always championed both sides! He can easily brag on Matt and equally celebrate what Michelle and Melissa are accomplishing. He loves all things family and will make sacrifices of time and distance to put himself in the place where he can continue to bless all of us with his time and attention. Of course, this comes back to him because each of his siblings and his parents too, think he is a very special guy! Brooks' Farm, Vera, Illinois On many occasions when we are with grandpa, he likes to drive us around the town and countryside doing what he calls, “running his traps!”...

My wife and “editor-in-chief” has been correcting me for years! And I’m not just thinking about her weekly and helpful comments regarding this blog! She loves to correct me when I misspeak or sing the wrong word in a Christmas carol as seems to occur every holiday season. I could argue that for some reason I have always found the phrase, “I wonder as I wander” in the beautiful carol, The Wonder of Christmas by John Niles, to be somewhat of a “tongue-twister” for me! You would think two similar sounding words like these should be an allowable nuance when singing, but Monique can detect the slightest of caroling infractions in only a moment. She will lean toward me and sarcastically question, “So you wander as you wonder?” I try not to act upset, but I am! 😉 "Star of Wonder"  Credit: unsplash.com I do love the wonder of this season and I like singing about it too! Do you realize how often the word, wonder or a form of the word, comes up in carols and conversations during Chri...

 "An Amen Is Nothing to Sneeze At!" This will require some explanation, but hold on for that! When I was a teenager, I would get into trouble at church. Nothing major, but just the kind of antics that had me laughing at inappropriate times. Like when we were standing at the end of a worship service and listening to the choir as they concluded with a beautiful choral Amen. The choir members were all in harmony until the final Amen's. This is the time when the sopranos and altos with great enthusiasm and increased volume would hit the high notes in affirming, "Amen" and drawing out each syllable. Then antiphonally, the tenors and bases would chime in with their corresponding Amen's. It was both melodic and confusing. About the time I would try to step out into the aisle and head for the door, the choir would add another Amen. It seemed to be an endless exercise for an anxious teenager! At last and almost with a whisper, they would conclude, "Amen!" I...

Am I the only one asking this question? All of this started since my retirement in July of 2018. I was so "schedule driven" throughout my active ministry years. Much of my awareness of the day of the week was tied to normal commitments in vocational ministry: preparation of messages and studies, facilitating ministry teams, leading Sunday worship services, making hospital visits and other contacts, and taking occasional days off! It was much easier with this structure to know what day of the week it was as I anticipated the next thing on my weekly to-do list. Now-a-days, with this COVID-19 challenge of staying-in-place, many of us have been thrown off of our routines. We are living a "new normal" and an ongoing confusion about what day it is! This can result in day/week/ time distortion akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone ! (for a reminder, check this out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxf_Dvy0VLs ) I find myself regularly inquiring, "What day is this...