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Sell – Frog in a Tuxedo
It’s like old times. I sold a possession the other day – without even trying. It was at school and I didn’t have a camera handy, so all I could do was take a photo with my cell phone. I would post that picture here, but there’s a problem: I’m an old guy who can’t figure out how to get the picture from the phone onto the computer (at least not without having to pay for some service I can’t afford).So here’s a pic of the pic on my phone: Jesus used a harsher, but similar, simile in Matthew 23: 27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!…
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The Fragrance of a Violet
Yesterday Melissa and I attended a funeral in Shelbyville. You might have read about the deceased in the newspaper. Genevieve Kelly was a 74 year old widow who was murdered in her own home, stabbed to death by a man who rented property from her. For as long as I can remember, Genevieve and her husband, John, were fixtures around the United Methodist Church where I grew up. John passed away just a couple of years ago. Everyone called him “The General” because he had been a Lieutenant General in the Air Force.Genevieve and The General were active with the…
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Christmas 2011
I have mentioned before how spiritually sensitive our oldest is. Well, late in the day on December 25, 2011, after all the ham was eaten, the stockings emptied and the presents unwrapped, Melissa and I put the kids down for the night and hoped to get a few moments of quiet.That’s when Dats (age 10) came out of the bedroom with a sad look on his face and said he wanted to talk to me about something – in private. We went down to the basement and sat side by side on the couch. I never know what to expect…
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December Newspaper Article
The young man sat at a desk in my classroom with his head lowered, avoiding the eyes of five teachers and his own mother. As his English teacher, I was a part of this intervention-style parent/teacher conference in an attempt to halt the downward trend of his GPA. Mom already knew what the problem was: his homework was not being turned in because he was obsessed with playing video games after school. “And there’s nothing I can say,” she explained, “because he bought the game console with his own money.” (Several teachers quickly pointed out that he owned the game,…
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If It’s Not a Miracle, It’s Awfully Close…
When we started in earnest on this journey towards full time missionary service in Haiti, it was November of 2010. I “knew” what the basic steps would be: apply to a mission organization, downsize, put the house up for sale, take the kids to Haiti for a preview, and start fundraising. It was that last step that held the most anxiety for me. I am basically a quiet, keep-to-myself kind of guy. I don’t like putting people on the spot. I don’t like asking others for help. I would rather be on the fringe of most conversations, rather than at…
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Black Friday
A week ago I found myself at the local Walmart. It was Thanksgiving night – almost 10:00 PM when I drove into the parking lot to find that every single spot was filled. The Menards lot next door was rapidly filling as well. I parked in the lot of a distant restaurant and walked. I had a few things on my list – a present for Dats that was going on sale at ten and a GPS for the car, a new printer, and a digital camera. My list was rather practical. I wasn’t after the season’s hottest toy or…
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November Newspaper Article – On Directing the School Play Recently
I am not even sure what headline the editor at “The Republic” ended up giving this article because I haven’t seen the paper yet today, but here is the article itself: **************** Maybe next month I can find a way to work in some information about us going to Haiti. My contact at “The Republic” said I could write about it, but I haven’t found my entry point yet. The timing just hasn’t been right.
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Opening Night
I hope you don’t expect to read anything too coherent here at the moment. As I write this, it is just after midnight and I am still wound up from a successful opening night for the school play which I had the privilege of directing. I am trying to kill three birds with one stone in writing here tonight: 1) I don’t think I could fall asleep yet, so maybe this writing will wind me down. 2) I haven’t written anything here for a couple of weeks and I need to get back in the habit, now that my schedule…
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A Year of Blogging
Today, November 6, 2011, concludes my first year of blogging. My daily reality has changed radically over the last 365 days as we work towards moving our family to Haiti: (In no particular order.) Then, I could see Target from my back yard. Now, I can see a cornfield. Then, I slept in a king size bed. Now, a full size. (I don’t mean to sound whiny, but this has been one of the biggest adjustments. I have to remind myself how many Haitians sleep on concrete or dirt.) Then, we lived in our house. Now, we rent it out. Then,…