Serve by Design

The outside of our refrigerator is lined with photos, magnets, and works of art! Who would have thought that this kitchen appliance would become an album of memories and a celebration of connection? Every time our family gathers, adults and children scope out the latest contributions to the fridge! They look, they point, they question, they smile and sometimes the adults frown because they think that last year’s pic did not do them justice! 😊 "That's my brother, Karter!" Klaire exclaimed! It is funny how this tradition of our family is not exclusive to just us. As most of you have heard me say, Monique loves to spend her post retirement days substituting at the same local elementary school where she reported for duty during twenty-two years of active teaching. And on nearly every occasion, she will exit the front door at day’s end with one or more special pictures tucked into her bag that a student has drawn just for her to bring home to display on our refrigerator. How ...

It has been an exciting month for space enthusiasts! (Moi included!). The Artemis 1 unmanned moon mission concluded on Sunday, December 11 with re-entry of the Orion space capsule and its splashdown and recovery after more than three-weeks. The mission, to and from, including a wide-swooping loop around the moon after 1.4 million miles, was epic. The images taken by the spacecraft cameras have been breathtaking and vivid! Borrowing an exclamation from the Star Trek television series, this mission into deep space (like the fictional Starship Enterprise) promises to take us in the future to distances beyond the moon “where no man has gone before!” "When I consider Your heavens...the moon and the stars... What is man that You are mindful  of him... that You visit him?" (Ps. 8:3-4). (Photo Credit: NASA) The 25,000-mph re-entry into earth’s atmosphere exposed Orion’s newly advanced heatshield to temperatures of more than 5000 degrees Fahrenheit. This shield had never been tested ...

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...

Monique picked up a brand name package of Swiss cheese recently. I immediately reacted, “Hey! That’s just like we bought when I was a kid!” It was labeled as a full slice, and I remembered how I would eat one of those every day for my after-school snack. In recent years, we have become accustomed to non-brand products that package only half slices. I had naively reasoned that the “economy slice” was following a more health-conscious approach. It is true that I don’t need the additional calories anyway!😉  Big Slice? What about the holes?! However, I discovered that the enclosed slices were not what a remembered from my childhood. These were a lot closer to half slices and contained more than the average number of holes in them! I counted seven or more “cheese vacancies” (holes!) in most slices. I asked, “What is this?” and a thought came to me that this might be an example of Shrinkflation! This new word has been used to describe how both packing and product have been downsized. Th...

“I never want to miss an opportunity to express gratitude!” That statement became a caption that accompanied a picture of myself that was posted on social media the day after Thanksgiving this year. The occasion for the picture was a moment of reflection and prayer before the meal at my sister’s that day. I had read an article just a few days before about the need for specificity when expressing gratitude. "May I have your attention, please!" A surprising example was used in the article entitled, “Thank Outside the Box” by Jess Stillman, (Source: understandably.com, November 22, 2022). The article suggests that we need to be as specific in expressing our thanks as we would be in describing a good breakfast stack of pancakes! For example, we might tell someone about our experience and use words like “fresh golden pancakes drizzled with lovely, sweet, amber, Maple syrup.” I have prayed general prayers all my life. These characteristically have an airy and less than satisfying...

We were there! Well, not really, but we excitedly followed the news source coverage of the Artemis 1 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this week! This launch represents a major step in NASA’s return to the Moon. The Artemis 1 Mission occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning and was launched toward lunar orbit with the expansive Orion capsule as its payload. This twenty-six-day test run (without astronauts) was propelled to its destination by the most powerful rocket in NASA’s arsenal to-date! The launch exploded from the pad with a whopping force of 9 million pounds of thrust! A look back to the future! The Keppler’s made a return visit (our third!) to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, August 2016, when the idea of a Mars mission was beginning to gain traction. During that occasion, we had our picture taken next to a prototype of the bulbous, gum-drop shaped Orion spacecraft. This four-passenger spaceship is being designed to transport astronauts to the Moon and later, to...

Our eldest son, Matt, is taking a course with policy wonks from near and far. He is engaged in a program of professional development for several weeks this fall under the tutelage of a notable east coast institution of learning. He is loving it! It has been over twenty years since he has taken any advanced studies. The whole experience is demanding in its instruction, reading and class assignments. There is both a collegiality and competitive spirit among his study group as they work together on policy issues from various levels of government, educational and civic concerns. Don't Sweat God's Redirects! Recently, one of his group members offered a bit of advice as they were establishing norms for how they will relate to one another during group time. She said that, in her experience, when a group discussion was holding up the work, they needed to complete during their limited time together, they invoked the acronym – E.L.M.O. As current group members looked at each other puzzle...