God has given me four sons and four daughters who are very careful not to hurt my feelings. I’m glad because as much as I love them, they could hurt me deeply if they tried. I try to be a big boy but I still have some growing up to do.

If you know me you know I like to tell happy stories about good things. I like to tell stories of love and goodness. I make excuses for celebrations every day. I like to point others to God’s good gifts all around them. I find this especially easy to do when spring overcomes winter and when summer turns to autumn. Evidence of God’s goodness abounds in autumn. But sometimes even in the autumn heartache silences laughter and tears drown any thought of …

Stella McVey was a member of my church but she never heard me preach. I had never seen her in church, because she was confined to a nursing home. She had lived in the little cross-road village of Brandon for years. Her daughter was married to the County Sheriff and they lived on the margin of the village. Her daughter also played the piano at the Methodist Church just across the road from the Baptist Church where I was the pastor. She appreciated me visiting …

Usually I say good Monday morning, but Monday morning we were deep in the hills of Kentucky far from modem or computer. For the Labor Day weekend we drove to the little mountain village where my wife was born to attend her annual family reunion. It is a beautiful area near Natural Bridge State Park about an hour southeast of Lexington.