The year was 1973. I was pastoring in the Midwest at the time. My dad, who owned the Mercantile at Polebridge, had sold me some ground along the river where we had built a small cabin that we could use as a retreat. That cabin later burned down in a […]

William Earnest Henley was born in Gloucester, England. He became an editor, poet and literary critic.  His father was a struggling bookseller who died when Henley was a teenager.  At twelve years of age, Henley was diagnosed with tubular arthritis that necessitated the amputation of one of his legs just below the knee. The other foot […]

I invite you to take a walk with me. The streets are narrow and wind around the building; they are also filled with camels, with their burden, donkeys whose backs are laden with everything from firewood to cooking utensils, and children running and playing, carefree as the wind that is […]

In the journal of the “Journal of the American Medical Association” a few years ago, Jane McAdams told the story of her sixty-nine-year-old mother who had lived a life deeply marked by the depression of the 1930s.  The evidence showed in her frugality and utterly practical perspective on all material things. The only extravagance that she ever permitted herself, McAdams wrote, […]

My first pastorate after finishing college was in a small dairy farming community in the midwest. The core of this small church was made up of Norwegians that had been members of a Missouri synod Lutheran church all their lives. Some of them had started a small Bible Study. As a part of the Bible study, each one would pray, […]

We all suffer some rough treatment as we move through life. One of them is betrayal. When it comes to betrayal, the classic example is Jesus and Judas. Judas always was an outsider among the 12 Apostles. I have wondered how he even became a part of the group. But there he is. He […]

Take a trip with me. We are in a small, community of Capernaum. It is a small fishing center located on the North shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is the Jewish Sabbath. We follow the people to the Synagogue, the center of Jewish life. Here they will listen to the Rabbi teach from the Jewish writings. […]

As I write this, I have a compass in front of me. It is a compass that belonged to my dad. Many times he took me with him if the hunt was not overnight. The compass is small, perhaps two inches across. It is covered with glass, and inside is a fluid […]

“The message you have heard from the beginning is that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was one of the evil ones and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deed was evil, and his brothers were righteous. We know that we have […]

The freedom of childhood is wonderful! My memories of those early years are warm and fuzzy. No cares, no worries, and few responsibilities other than making sure the wood box was full so mom could cook. But as life matures, so do my responsibilities. My backpack begins to accumulate “stuff,” and I begin this […]