recipes
Strawberry shortcake has been a Fourth of July tradition at our house for a long time. The recipe comes from my great grandmother--my father’s grandmother--who died not long after I was born. When my mother asked my father what recipes he wanted to make sure she knew how to
poetry
get the door It’s that thing about a door closing and God opening a window that gets me sometimes I get the idea It gives me some hope but on this day when a door is closing I’m not ready to look for or out a window I’
poetry
two more bagels I think it was the end of the first week when I stopped at the corner of Madison and East 35th Street to get a bagel cinnamon raisin on way to my new job almost six years ago not long after, the man in the stainless steel
sermon
I have been away from much of the media in my life for a few weeks, much of it related to dealing with changes in my life that have taken a toll on me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Posting my sermon this week is a way of saying to you
sermon
I preached last Sunday at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, a church with which I have a long and meaningful connection, so my sermon is personal for me and for them. Even so, sometimes something that speaks to the particular also has a wider reach. Thanks to their awesome AV
sermon
The reading for today is one of my favorite passages: Jesus cooking breakfast for Peter and the others who had been fishing all night. For all the times I have read and written about these verses, I saw new things, thanks to a conversation with Ginger. I hope you find
Uncategorized
Since I wrote my last post, I have been thinking about songs that would give melody to the symphony of emotions that accompany my decision to leave my job. As I said, I feel sad and hopeful and anxious and sad. I’ve gone through a lot of songs that
Uncategorized
“Choose your losses or lose your choices.” About this time of the year in 1977 I was called to be the pastor of Pecan Grove Baptist Church, a small rural congregation west of Waco; between Oglesby and Mound, to be more exact. In early May of that year, I was
sermon
In some of my writing, I have talked about the ways I think Judas is treated unfairly in the gospels. None of the writers can mention him without reminding everyone that he betrayed Jesus. Thomas is the other disciple that gets misrepresented, I think, more by the generations that followed
sermon
Easter feels like it should be an easier Sunday to preach than it is. The magnitude of the day makes it feels like I should have something big to say, but the reality is the story is quite simple and, in its simplicity, profound. So here’s what I have
lenten journal
I worked from home today because there wasn’t time to get back from New York and make it to the Maundy Thursday service in Westbrook, where I am interim pastor. I met a friend for coffee and as I was walking home I noticed a crew taking down a
lenten journal
Since I get on the train around 5:30 in the morning, most of us riding into New York use the time to sleep--until the train stops at 125th Street, and then we start to move about. Some get their stuff together but stay seated, and others (like me) stand