I suspect we all have a favorite place, one that soothes our soul and calms our spirit. Where merely being there is all we need. I discovered one of mine back in 1994: the Mount Hermon Conference center, that has led to revisits. There, walks through the redwoods not only reveal God’s love of beauty, but they enhance the spiritual tone of the conferences I’ve attended. So, in 2019, I carved out some time to take a trail down to Bean Creek. And loving the art of trout fishing…
Read MoreQuit Complaining
I made a brief November Facebook post about complaining, and it received a nice response. But that has been haunting my thoughts, and to ease my own mind, let’s give it a deeper dig,
Read MoreI Need a Baked Potato
Context is everything. Well, almost. But it does give the backstory and brings in other elements of a situation that may change how we perceive it. So, the context for our recent trip to Idaho to visit our grandkids, Josh and Kate: my wife Sheila LOVES baked potatoes, and could have one every night. On our drive through countless miles of California and Nevada desert to the potato mecca, she voiced her desire for an IDAHO baked potato. Idaho did bring us to our grandkids, but…
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Home Brew
I realize some of my socially conservative readers may not fully agree with the topic of this post, but I encourage you to read on. Beer brewing provides a metaphor for how spiritual formation, or following Jesus, gets sidetracked so easily, often without our knowledge. Enjoy the message even as you avoid the brew. For those who make home brew, you’ll quickly get the point! For those who imbibe but don’t brew, you’ll like it too!
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Bad People Exist--Know That
Our church fellowship had a huge gathering each summer at Newport Dunes, a lot of activities and an evening service with music and a message. I rode there on my Honda 350 from my home in Long Beach, and Ken asked for a ride back. Then at a light in Seal Beach, the bike stalled, short on gas, just as the light turned green. I quickly turned the valve for the gas reserve, started right away, maybe taking five seconds. But that exhausted the patience of the car driver behind me. Honking, then…
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Look Closer
At Mount Hermon, walks through the redwoods not only reveal God’s love of beauty, but they enhance the spiritual tone of the conference. So, like always, I carved out some time to take a trail down to Bean Creek. And loving the art of trout fishing, my first thought at seeing the pool shown above was, “Dang, wish I’d brought my fly rod!” The hole held at least six likely homes for hungry trout.But I quickly calmed down, knowing…
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