Much of your joy in life depends on how you approach it.

I was in the king of all traffic jams a few weeks ago. We were traveling in two cars. We were in the lead car. We were zipping along right on schedule. We were headed for a speaking engagement and making a camping trip out of it. It was in South Haven so we were looking forward to seeing the sun set on Lake Michigan from the door of our tent… if we could get there in time to get our camp set up. …

I don’t have too many successful fishing stories to tell but I have had a few evenings on the water with my boys that will be hard to forget.

At least for a while I am the Village Parson again, even while I am directing an urban-based ministry. Sunday morning and evening we drove out to the village of Byron to assume me new duties as regular pulpit supply until they get their new pastor. The church is a beautiful red brick colonial. My morning message was: “How A Church Can Be More Than Just a Pretty Building.” In the evening we had communion and I preached on “Understanding Love in the Light of the …

In 1987 I was called to pastor a rural church a few miles as the crow flies from where my Grandpa Pierpont’s old farm. I have my grandpa’s name: Kenneth Pierpont. One day after driving to Newark on a hospital call and stopping to visit my grandpa’s grave I wrote this essay.

When Kyle was growing up I was always telling him stories. Now that he is on his own a little when we get together more and more he has his own stories to tell. On the way home from picking him up from his first year of college he told me a touching story about an acquaintance named Kenneth. Kyle met Kenneth when they were paired together for an accounting assignment but they had very little contact beyond that.