Last Thursday there was an accident just down the road from our house. I live on a somewhat twisty rural road that has just too many people going too fast for the conditions. Sorrowfully a life was ended in this accident.  I have watched the young man of 24 years come speeding around that corner probably hundreds of times. I don’t know if he just liked going fast or if his life was so far out of control that he thought he “had” to go fast.  Either way that ended last week as he was speeding around that turn swinging out on … Continue reading A Life Lost..

They say as you get older you need to exercise your brain so it doesn’t go soft. In that light this new category just popped into my head so I thought I would give it a try.  We all need to learn, or maybe re-learn, new words. So here is the word for today vi·car·i·ous [vahy-kair-ee-uhs, vi-] –adjective  1. performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another: vicarious punishment. 2. taking the place of another person or thing; acting or servingas a substitute. 3. felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others: a vicarious thrill. 4. Physiology . noting or pertaining to a situation in which oneorgan performs part of the functions normally performed byanother. I am thinking mostly of number three.  That is we often live our dreams through the experiences of others. I have to admit that I am a junkie when it comes to the TLC channel program entitled … Continue reading Vicariously….

  I believe that Christ loathes our personal pride and selfishness and celebrates our humility and compassion. I believe churches should be recognized by their works today not by their buildings or ceremonies either past or present. I believe that Jesus meant us to follow his example, not idolize him. I believe that God created the universe as more than a just holding tank where we wait until we go to heaven. Continue reading I Believe…

Just in case you forgot, winter does come early in some years.  This picture was taken on October 8, 1989 in Indianapolis.  We got over the foot of snow that day!   Continue reading October Snow!!!!

This is a new category post where I will talk about those people and things that I believe are truly right about the world today. Lately I tend to look back at things and always notice where we went wrong or where I believe we are off track. Always viewing the world with that attitude can be depressing indeed! I need to stop and celebrate where we get it right. For this post I celebrate those people and organizations that help us remember our history. Of course this includes some of my favorite places to visit which are historical villages. … Continue reading I Celebrate…Historical Centers

I want to feel that I have changed the world at least to some small degree. So the above question at least occasionally enters my mind. This query is somewhat related to the previous post about being childless. If I were fortunate enough to have had children I could at least hold out hope that they might change the world because I gave them life. I could think that maybe my kids or grandkids will be the ones who: 1) solve global warming, 2) cure cancer, 3) bring peace to the Middle East, or 4)something maybe less dramatic but equally … Continue reading Will the World be Different Because I Was Here?

All of us who have lived a good portion of our lives have some regrets on how some things have turned out. One of my biggest regrets is not having children. As I mentioned before my wife Yvonne and I did not meet and get married until we were over forty years old. Yvonne was already in menopause by then so children were not in our future. We did discuss the possibility of adopting but like many other things we procrastinated so long that even that option was not really doable. But, given that my deafness is congenital I was … Continue reading Life’s Regrets….

I think all States in the U.S. are divided up into counties and each county has a county seat.   I happen to live near one of them. The country seat is where local government takes place. Almost all county seats have a courthouse to carry on their business. As a result most courthouses are surrounded by a courthouse square. In the past this was the very center of the local community. Today most but not all courthouse squares are skeletons of what they used to be. Many of the functions that used to take place at the courthouse square … Continue reading Town Squares…

Let’s do another post on my high school days or maybe I should say where I lived during my high school days. As I mentioned before I went to a Catholic school from the first through the seventh grade. So, I was primarily taught by nuns and priests. I have mentioned before that my mom deserted my dad, brother, and me when I was in the sixth grade. Soon after that dad could no longer afford the mortgage payments on our house. He did manage to sell it for a small profit and then we moved to a rented farmhouse … Continue reading High School Memories…..

I believe that Jesus meant us to be humble rather than proud. I believe that Jesus meant us to be selfless rather than selfish. I believe that humility and compassion are the two most important things all Christians must strive to. Everything else is small stuff. Continue reading I Believe

The above title is somewhat of a shocker from a person like me who is reflecting on his retirement years. So, let me finish the sentence here. Retirement is a meaningless void until you make it otherwise. The second part of the sentence definitely changes the first. Yes, retirement does usually clean off the blackboard of life so that it is ready for a new agenda. We no longer have the long string of responsibilities that tied us to a job for so many years. For the most part we are free to re-invent ourselves in a different light. That … Continue reading Retirement is a Meaningless Void….

“Stuff” has been on my mind lately so I pulled out a November 2008 blog post on one of my other blogs and re-posted it below. I am in the process of cleaning out my barn and it is loaded with stuff (shame on me!!). Sometimes I would just like to throw it all away and start over again; maybe this time I could refrain from the temptation of accumulating it all over again. But I kind of doubt it. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> November 2008 Ok this maybe anti-American but Jesus was definitely anti-stuff.  When Jesus sent out his disciples to spread … Continue reading Stuff

We often have casual conversations about the weather over our back fences or to people we are not intimately familiar with. When we can’t think of anything else to say we talk about the weather! Well, I seem to be in one of those funks where words and not coming easily right now so let’s talk about the weather. Is it just me or has this some been an unusually hot one! I know as I am getting older I can’t seem to take the heat as I once did. When I was in high school I worked summers putting … Continue reading Let’s talk about the weather….

I have been having some pretty grumpy days lately so I find it necessary to revisit the issue of happiness. We all want to be happy especially in our retirement years. The pursuit of happiness is even in our country’s founding documents. Happiness is more than a feeling; it is actually much more a choice. We all have known people who seem to be grumpy and unhappy no matter what their circumstances are. They seem to just refuse to be happy. To many of them the government is the enemy who steals their happiness. For others they refuse to be … Continue reading Choose to be Happy..

We recently spent a glorious three days on Mackinac Island in upper Michigan. One of the unique things about the island is that there are no motorized vehicles on it. Transportation is by either horse, bicycle, or on foot. We stayed at the Island House hotel and besides for some pretty poor service in the dining room during a dinner hour our stay there was  fantastic. The food at the hotel was great but I guess the waiters were either poorly trained or just overloaded the night we choose to dine there.  My favorite dining spot proved to be Millies … Continue reading Mackinac Island, MI

I have been doing some studying on the concept of universal salvation or reconciliation. Here is what Wikipedia says about it: Origen was a 3rd century proponent of Universal Reconciliation.  The belief in the eventual salvation of all humankind has been a topic of debate throughout the history of the Christian faith. In the early Church, universalism was a flourishing theological doctrine. Reconciliation is the main belief that distinguishes Christian Universalism from other forms of Christianity. Various theologians, including Clement of Alexandria and Origen in the 3rd century, St. Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century, and St. Isaac the … Continue reading Universal Salvation..

I believe that meeting human needs should be more important than maintaining religious institutions. I believe that peace should be more important than power. I believe in the authority of the words of Jesus in the Bible over those of even His most inspired followers. And the journey goes on…. Continue reading I Believe…

Mahatma Gandhi Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. At first thought the above quote did not mean a lot to me but when I thought it out it is indeed has a great significance in my life. I often get somewhat depressed that there is so much suffering in the world today. The chanting of war has seemed endless in my lifetime. I was conceived by a noble man returning from World War II. Then there was the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Iraq war and many other “conflicts” strung … Continue reading Memorable Quotes

Here is a quote by Philip Gulley who is a Quaker minister and author.  I couldn’t have said it any better At the end of the day, it is important to remember that while the institutional church is important to us, Jesus appeared to give it little thought. Though the church eventually became the means by which the story and witness of Jesus spread, neither its genesis nor continuance seemed a priority to him. Time after time, meeting human needs took center stage in his life and ministry. Indeed, when Jesus did speak of institutional religion, he was often scathing, … Continue reading The Institutional Church

Of course being totally deaf as I am means that I can no longer hear the noises around me. Sometimes that is a good thing. I no longer hear the screaming kid at the table next to me in a restaurant. I am somewhat oblivious to the constant chatter of people on cell phones always around me. The last five years of my corporate life was living in a cubicle. Most people complained about them as you can hear conversations, coughs and other things from several cubicles around you. I was one of the few who really liked my cubicle. … Continue reading Deafness and Danger

I have been away from my computer for a while.  Yvonne and I spent a glorious week at Mackinac Island. I will be sharing pictures of that soon but right now let’s finish up the current series of DC and the area.  This picture and the one following them are of Williamsburg VA also taken in 1988. I have been there several times before and after this series was taken. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Continue reading Williamsburg VA…

Sorry for not saying something earlier but I have been away from my computer for a while. Yvonne and I took a week vacation to northern Michigan starting  Labor day weekend. We spent three glorious days on Mackinac Island. It was simply wonderful to not see a single motorized vehicle for all that time. Even though I am deaf cars and such still make quite a bit of noise at least in my mind. In place of the cars and trucks were one and two real horse powered carts and wagons and then there were bicycles . I will be … Continue reading Been Away for a while….

Here is an exert from a 1983 article in Sojourner Magazine written by Elsa Tamez. It speaks to my questions as to why God is silent so often in our lives. GOD’S SILENCE is mysterious. Sometimes it fills us with fright and paralyzes us in the face of the legion of devils that squeezes out the life of the people. But without this silence of God, we can’t become men and women. When God speaks all the time, people become deaf. They don’t hear the cry of the poor and of those who suffer. They become full; they no longer walk … Continue reading The Silence of God

Don’t get fixated on one particular thing. One of my favorite books is “1,000 Places to Go in the U.S. before you Die”. As the title indicates there is a list of 1,000 places in the U.S. that you can visit. To me retirement years is that time when you can accomplish many of the things you have put off. I strongly believe that being the Jack of all trades in my retirement years is much better than spending all my time to be the master of one thing. So, my advice is as the red letters above say don’t … Continue reading Retirement Don’ts

My wife comes from northern Wisconsin and anyone who knows the area knows that is paper country. I think when you are born in that territory something is put into your DNA related to paper? Before I was married I usually went through a roll of toilet paper every month or so and a box of tissue would last at least six months. After I found my soul mate and got married that condition would drastically change! Our first shopping cart as husband and wife was filled to overflowing with paper products. After almost twenty five years of marriage I … Continue reading Paper Products….

I believe that affirming our potential is more important than condemning our brokenness. Many churches I have attended put a very strong I would even say an overwhelming emphasis on our brokenness. Their creeds which are chanted every Sunday point out that we are nothing but poor miserable sinners and are capable of absolutely nothing good. Besides causing inferiority complexes in those to buy into that thought it is also does very little to attract those not familiar with the true words of Jesus and the positive things he wants us to accomplish while on this earth. Most of the … Continue reading Affirming our Potential

Let’s start up a new category with this post. As you have or will discover there are many different things that you can do in retirements. Therefore the retirement “Do’s” are almost unlimited. But there are also a number of retirement “Don’ts” that you should be mindful of. These are things that you generally don’t want to get hooked on in your retirement years. Let’s start out with my first Don’t. Don’t Let Your Mind Go Lazy…. This is probably the most dangerous thing you can do. Yes, it is possible for you to simply lay down on the couch … Continue reading Retirement Don’ts

I just got a haircut recently and a memory came back to me from my childhood. In order to get it back where it belongs on the far fringes of my memory I have to post it here. I don’t have nearly as much hair as I did back then and I get it cut much less frequently now. But it was a tradition for several years that I always got my “Hollywood Burr” hair cut every two weeks. It was a neighborhood tradition for several years. The man living just behind us named Mr. Harmon was a barber in … Continue reading The Bi-weekly Haircut…..

I am back from my seven week hiatus and with some fresh insights. During this time I have stopped thinking about theology. It just became too troublesome for me to continue the way I was going.  But, I have now come to some foundational conclusions. I was just getting too drained worrying about all the different views of Christ that exist in the world today and which one, if any, is actually true. It is not up to me to “save” the rest of the world. Everyone must discover the true Christ on their own terms. I believe that I … Continue reading A New Beginning….

  This is my first post about my high school years. Since I want to make this a series I will only give you a small slice of those years here. I went to high school in the small town of Monrovia Indiana. I started there in the eighth grade in 1960. Before Monrovia I went to a Catholic school in Indianapolis. I can still remember the culture shock I faced those first days of school! I quickly realized that these were not nuns who were teaching me now. First of all the school I was starting in was built in … Continue reading My High School Years…..

  When Jesus was on this earth he told us numerous times to be one as he and the father were one. If only we had listened and taken his words and life’s lessons seriously. I read recently that the very popular Christian author Ann Rice is giving up on all current Christian denominations. In the interview she stated that she is not giving up on Christ, just the present day organizations that espouse to follow him. She also said that there is just too much of a tie between Christians and worldly kingdoms; particularly those in the U.S. I … Continue reading If Only We Had Taken Jesus’ Words Seriously

  Boy do I remember my wedding day. I suspect that most of us do. Of course for those who have been married multiple times the wedding day might get intermingled in our minds (ha). Fortunately I found my soul mate the first time around but it did take a while. I was on the teetering edge of forty years of age when it happened. I was beginning to think that marriage was just not going to happen for me! Even at forty I was still somewhat shy around women. I grew up without any female presence in the family … Continue reading Connecting with my Soul Mate…

If only we put as much enthusiasm into our academic accomplishments as we do our sporting activities. The rest of the world is at our door ready to eat our lunch. Why is this? One reason is because academically their children are now surpassing our in math, science and other critical subjects. Anyone that has any concept of what the 21st century will be about knows that technology will play a very prominent role. Anyone who know much about technology knows that it starts with basic knowledge of math and science. One of the reasons we are about to lose … Continue reading If Only…

Will Rogers – What would he say about…  Today’s stock market As I mentioned elsewhere in this blog, Will Rogers is a hero of mine. He was plain spoken half breed Indian from Oklahoma who became world famous during the 1920’s and 30’s.  If you haven’t had a chance to read any of his books or some of his daily newspaper posts then I would highly recommend you do so.  I never tire of reading him and I have read much of his work over a dozen times now! So, to start this new category out in the spirit of … Continue reading The Stock Market Needs a Good Dose of Ritalin

I regret to believing at one time that the sole value of Jesus rested in his ability to usher me into heaven. I  believe the principles Jesus articulated, summarized in the Sermon on the Mount, is the critical foundation for His true church I  believe that the fullness of the Holy Spirit is my  inheritance. I daily reflect on Jesus’ words to be filled with the Spirit. I believe that religious institutions committed to communal uniformity seldom ask questions. The risk of straying beyond conventional answers is too great. And the journey goes on… Continue reading I Believe….