I was just finishing some yard work when I saw a Hispanic man drive up in a pick-up truck. A young man was with him, later I found out it was his son. I smiled and waved, he smiled a waved back. They unloaded some equipment and went to work. I finished packing my things away.
They had not been there five minutes when suddenly there was a load bang. The young began to scream over the noise of the power equipment, “Father, father! My …

We used to live less than an hour from the heart of the Ohio Amish Country. The countryside there was pleasant to see and we frequently drove the back roads in every season and watched the progress of growing things and family life. My day off was Monday. That was usually our day to wander the back roads, browse the bookstores, and sample the baked goods of the Amish Country. We enjoyed picnics in the summer, apple cider in the fall, and coffee with cheese tarts …

Ralph and Maxine had been married nearly fifty years. I was their pastor. One day I heard Ralph was in the hospital. I drove to town and made my way to his room. He was having a tussle with an ugly strain of the flu. It looked miserable, but it didn’t look serious. I kept my visit short, prayed with him, and said good-bye. I thought I would see him in church on Sunday, but the next day instead of being discharged to recover …

Re-posted from 2004
A few weeks ago we entertained a guest from China. He and his wife and Lois and I ate together at Bob Evans when we picked him up from the airport. I had coffee. He had tea. I was raised in Ohio. He was raised on the other side of the world. But we bowed to thank God for our meal together because we had Christ in common. As we ate together and talked we discovered something more.

Mercer Chapel on Spring Road was a little white-frame community church. Like thousands of others, a fixture of the American countryside. Set in a cemetery, its patriarchs and matriarchs slept near by. It was a pleasant slow-paced congregation. Volleyball league and Ladies’ Aid. Strawberry suppers and ice-cream socials. Pot-luck dinners and Class parties. Christmas pageants and Easter bonnets. Good cooks and farm kids. American Traditional. Sort of a Norman Rockwell print.
The people were good to us. Elmer Brown introduced me to “punkin’ blossoms.” His wife Edith worked at the phone …

I just got a call from a dear friend. He is a pastor. He needs to lose some weight. He read that I need to lose some weight. He challenged me to a weight-loss race. He has to lose 30 pounds. I need to lose 40 pounds. Here’s the deal: the first one to his goal is the winner (the big loser). The prize is this a hard-bound edition of Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon published by Banner of Truth.

I have a copy but mine is an old …

It’s fun to find yourself in the right place at the right time with just the right thing you need to help someone whose options are very thin. That happened to me yesterday. I saw a man having trouble. His car wouldn’t start. It was full of children. I saw him looking around. He didn’t know what to do. I asked him if he needed a “jump.”

I’m in a really good mood today so I am going to give you some advice you will thank me for, for the absolute rest of your life. Get on iTunes and download all the Fernando Ortega you can afford as soon as you can. While you are at it surf over and check out the picture of his newborn daughter on his website. You can listen to one of his beautiful songs here. Now you owe me… Bigtwime.

Sometimes people are out to get you, but probably not as often as you think. The sad fact is most people really do spend most of their time thinking only of themselves. They are not guilty of malice toward you as often as they are guilty of indifference. In my thirty years of ministry I have noticed that part of the Devil’s craft is inspiring people to do just the wrong thing at just the right time to confirm the worst suspicions of the best people. Not everyone is out …

Here is the title story from my book Sunset on Summer. Download and enjoy. Let me know what you think.
Sunset on Summer
Thanks to Daniel for producing the podcast.

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