I do have a wife. This is a picture of her and our youngest daughter.

photo by Lois Pierpont
I have often thought of things I like in a church building. I love a soaring white steeple glistening against the blue sky or lighted jutting up into the night. It would, of course, have a large pulpit in the very center, symbolic of the priority of the ministry of the Word. Maybe it would have the white colonial furniture, too.

Sometimes you can be enjoying a beautiful, mundane afternoon and be plunged into a heart-rending crisis within a few seconds. That happened to us one quiet spring afternoon a few years ago. I was walking out across the yard enjoying the laughter and play-sounds of the children coming from the other side of the barn.

I’m not all that sharp but I have learned a few things from being a father of eight and husband of over twenty-five years. Left to themselves young boys usually do not do a very good job on cleaning the garage. They either fight with each other or they just frog around and do a halfway job.

Saturday evening I was out redeeming my Sweetest Day. I was preoccupied in my thoughts weighing weather I should buy candy, flowers, or a cookbook for my Sweetest. I should have been paying more attention to my driving. I paused at a corner in a shopping center parking lot and without realizing it I rolled through a four-way stop. I pulled away from the stop sign before the fellow who had the right-of-way. He laid on his horn and his car lunged forward as if …

Recognition

Have you ever met anyone who likes to be known as someone who does not want recognition? I don’t think I have ever met anyone who really doesn’t want to receive recognition. Who doesn’t love to be recognized for an achievement? Who doesn’t want to be loved, accepted, and noticed?

I used to own a bank, but I lost it. Actually, it was taken away from me. My Dad took it. My aunt gave it to me. It was a Christmas present. She made it herself. It was a green Cocker Spaniel bank. It was sort of a kosher-version of the classical piggy-bank. It was ceramic. It sat right on my dresser and I kept my allowance in it. Every week I put a couple nickels in it. I …

I stumbled across this little piece on my hard-drive today looking for something else. It interested me. Maybe it will interest you, too. About a year ago I preached in the church where my little brother is the pastor. Here is how I introduced the message:

When I got out of bed this morning I sensed the Lord put a question in my heart. “Is your heart a treasure of good things?” Jesus said; “How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure in his heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things…” (Matthew 12:34-35)

Friday night the family did a concert at Bethel Baptist Church in St. Clair Shores. Sunday night we returned from a weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana where we sang and preached at Emmanuel Christian Fellowship. We were hosted by the Robert Weaver family. It was a nice weekend. On Saturday we had a little time to explore the village of Shipshewana. The whole village was glowing with Christmas lights and ringing with carols. We strolled through the village, sampled the good “Amish-style” food and spent …