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The Hard Way
Quite a few years ago when I was new to the world of blogging, I got in really big trouble for a post I published entitled “Big.” It was about big behaviors in small churches and small behaviors in large churches. Mostly it focused on a wonderful 100th anniversary celebration we had just attended for…
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Little Robbie and How He Saved Our Bacon
Once upon a time there was a scrawny little boy who was born in Idaho, grew up in Nevada, was too small for most of his clothes, and fell asleep at the family dinner table almost every night. He grew up with two big brothers, one little sister, and held his own in scuffles over…
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Take That, You Guys. I’m in Thermopolis.
You don’t need to know where I was or what I was doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. It’s not necessary to fill you in on my childrens’ ages at the time or the scramble to get them gathered under my wing. How my mental checklist was instantaneously rearranged. It makes no difference…
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The Bathroom Key
Mid-century design is no longer a passing fad. It’s here to stay. There are entire TV series devoted to conjuring up that nostalgic feeling, which most often includes a high price tag. It’s not cheap to transform a space or lifestyle into what I think you might manage to bring home at least a portion…
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Getting Rid of Bumper Stickers
A while back I did something I rarely do. I let critics read my writing. Well, there are always critics, but I don’t have to know about it. With some sturdy brick and mortar, I cautiously erected a fortress around myself while waiting for a response. The responses arrived. The walls were clearly not as…
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Cathedrals and the Cornerstone
Occasionally I attend the Cathedral of the Murder-She-Wrote-Opening-Credits-Theme-Song which has the most amazing re-centering, calming effect on me. The experience lasts a predictable 47 seconds and I’ve never nodded off nor fallen out of my pew throughout the service. Entirely by accident about 20 years ago when the phone rang just as I was punching…
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A Small Circle of Giants
Long ago with four little children around my feet when days just happened the way they happened and crowds of people at school, work, church and neighborhood moved in and out of my routines, friendships formed organically, as though an enormous sifter was releasing the bits that didn’t fit and hanging onto those that did.…
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The Real Santa Claus
At the height of a Colorado mountain snowstorm, the real Santa Claus blew in through the rustic front door of the main lodge at the YMCA camp in Estes Park on Christmas Eve 1969. It took two bulky men leaning against the door to get it closed from the inside as they fought the wind…
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Quietness AND Confidence
Days ago I wrote words to you that were cute and clever in an attempt to bring you around to a sense of calm in the storm. Somehow it did not set well with the stream of sadness flowing through my spirit. So I trashed it. And then trashed the trash so it was truly…
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Five Pairs of Pants and One Shirt
“Life is complicated and not for the timid. It’s an experience that when it’s done, it will take us a while to get over it.” Garrison Keillor from Leaving Home When circumstances are happening fast, situations unfolding in real time, and decisions are being made without the full engagement of sufficient brain power, sometimes you…
Beyond Lashley Lane
Plain talk about life from a Christian perspective woven together with humor, practicality, and God willing, a bit of encouragement
