a quick update

I talked to my dad this morning as I was going into work. They had just taken my mother into surgery and we were getting ready for a long day of waiting. I did not expect to hear from him until at least four o'clock. Two and a

god is for us

Sometimes life drifts apart; sometimes it comes together. Within the last week, several members of my former youth group in Texas found me via Facebook. I still haven’t figured out how to navigate that rather formidable universe, but I am enjoying finding old friends. One of the things we

thank you, mama africa

I turned one year old on a ship sailing across the Atlantic Ocean for Africa. My parents were going to be missionaries in Southern Rhodesia and I was along for the ride. In 1957, the only way to get from Texas to Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia was by ship, and then

all good gifts

One of the things I love about our church is there is always a certain level of improvisation, particularly when it comes to worship. Our worship is well planned and very intentional and, like good improv, Ginger often uses what we have prepared and the talents she knows we have

autumn leaves

When I got to the front yard, my neighbor had just finished raking the leaves. Our property line was well delineated: no leaves on his lawn, leaves on mine. He has chosen to participate in fall’s festival of futility in ways I have not. I’m waiting for a

still on the line

On our trip to Texas, we stopped for coffee somewhere south of Waco and, along with our beverages, we picked up James Taylor’s new CD, Covers , to give us a  break from the radio. As I said earlier this week, my life is a movie in search of a

on the street where I live

The opening scene of the movie, Big , (as I remember it, twenty years later) was of Josh and his friend, Billy, walking together down a tree-lined street singing, The space goes down, down baby, down, down the roller coaster. Sweet, sweet baby, sweet, sweet, don't let me go.

good for us

I woke up thinking about the Kenyan election that was held some time back. Was thought to be one Africa’s most stable democracies was ripped apart when the results did not go the way the party in power hoped they would. I woke up thinking about it because I

an american tune

I suppose there are any number of ways I could describe my life, but one that fits as well as any is a movie in search of a soundtrack. Whatever is going on, I’m always listening for the right song to rise up from the jukebox in my mind

the field

When Ginger and I fly, she always takes the window seat and I always opt for the aisle, which means, from time to time, someone unrelated to us sits in the middle. Last night on the flight home from Texas, a rather chatty woman sat between us and covered a

running scared

We took Ella walking in the middle of the night last night, so I didn’t get my daily dose of Jon Stewart, so, when I got home tonight, Ginger and I watched last night’s episode of The Daily Show , which included this report from John Oliver at both

where everybody knows your name

Every so often, I come across a Cheers episode on television. For all the years between now and the days when it set my Thursday night schedule, the show holds up pretty well. My favorite scene is Norm walking in and heading to his usual perch. What has weathered time