The house is quiet. Soft instrumental music floats easily from the speakers in the dining room. Candles burn on the mantle and table. The home is filled with a pleasing aroma. The children are reading except for the second oldest boy who is concentrating on a game of chess with Dad. Mom is working with […]
The Sacrament of Living
How many sacraments are there? Baptists say none, only ordinances. Other groups have settled on seven. Without being too sharp in our theological distinctions, there is a sense in which there are millions of sacraments in God’s great creation. They are everywhere as far as the eye can see and they are all around you. […]
Ralphy’s Moment
A few years ago I was coaching baseball in Ohio. I was standing in the mouth of the first base dugout watching play when the other team sent up a little kid that had been on the bench all year. He played for a very cut-throat, competitive team and rarely got in the game. His […]
My Cup Collection
Some boys dream of playing in the World Series. Some dream of building racecars or bridges or skyscrapers. Some boys dream of fighting fires or saving lives. Since I was a boy I have had a dream of having a study with bookshelves lining the walls of the room, floor to ceiling. Every shelf is […]
Social Inattention
There is a kind of social inattention that I have always found humorous. I notice it most on the few occasions when I golf with friends. Golf is not something I take very seriously. If you ever saw me golf you would know why. The more pressure on me to make a good shot, the […]
Bad Day
I spend a lot of time waiting for my family to get in the car so we can go places. One of the things that keeps me from getting hostile about that is that I get to scare them by beeping the horn when they walk by the front of the van. It’s just one […]