Voice. Listen with intent. Speak simply.

  • FUTURE SHOCK

    I suspect I am in the throes of future shock..  It began about 2007, when my principal suggested I invest in an IPod for my music classroom.  That proved to be one of the most valuable teaching tips I ever received.  I carried at least 1500 sound bytes and songs around in my pocket. I…

  • Setting Up

    Have you ever been camping? One evening when I as a young child, some “old” friends of my parents came to visit. They were vacationing…camping!…at the state park near our home. We were all invited to join their evening campfire. I was hooked from the moment Dad parked the car. The aroma of the campfire.…

  • Bully

    Bully. Verb. To seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable. It all began with the innocent play of young children at a neighborhood birthday party. The attendees, ranging in age from 3 year old preschoolers to upper elementary ages, were all from the surrounding neighborhood, so they knew each other fairly well.…

  • “An Open Letter to Baptist Women in Ministry” – A Response

    I love TV shows and movies that depict an older woman blazing a  trail, and then mentoring a younger woman who it seems is destined to follow a similar path. As my generation faces retirement and senior adulthood, passing the proverbial baton becomes all important. This ritual is an age-old Process.  With it seems to…

  • Saying goodbye

    This is Jubilee. I don’t remember where I found him, or even why I bought him in the first place. But, he became one of the most valuable teacher’s aides I ever had. You see, Jubilee introduced all my youngest students to the most basic aspect of music – the steady beat. He would already…

  • Careful What You Wish For…

    We have lived in south central Virginia/piedmont North Carolina for nearly 39 years.  When we first moved into this area, a trip back “home” to East Tennessee included an arduous trek up a two-lane, wiggly-twisty, steeply graded mountain pass. The view from Lovers Leap at the top of the mountain always seemed to make the hard…

  • Aging

    “I’m NOT looking for a new job!” I declared as I tossed an un-revised copy of my resume on Gerry Robinson’s desk. “I’m quite happy where I am! The only reason I am here is because this IS where my church membership is, and you just happen to have an open staff position that fits…

  • BFF Pat

    If you are really blessed, there is the possibility that someone may enter your life and somehow, before you are even fully aware, become a close friend, a confidant, a pal who will go with you on an adventure at the drop of the proverbial hat. Such BFFs are few and far between. They are…

  • Let the Chips Fall…

    Perhaps I should research a bit to see where this idiom began…but as I think about it literally, I am reminded of those crispy, incredibly crunchy, kettle baked things that are all flavor and calories without a smidge of nutritional value.  You know, those things that will drive us to ravage the cupboards as we…

  • ELEPHANT

    ELEPHANT

    Many folks have asked us, since we retired, how in the world we stayed in the local church ministry so long (45+ years).  It all goes back to a decision we made after our second“crash and burn” experience in just over 6 years of full time ministry.  We were young, with a still very sick…