Okay, so we’re all tired of hearing anything ‘pandemic.’ It has been an incredibly challenging and confusing year. 2020 was a great big mess for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because we had to learn ‘social distancing.’ We were advised to stay away from others who were not part of our immediate living situation. … Continue reading Pandemic Pals
We are one year into the COVID pandemic. It is an incredibly sad anniversary. More than 500,000 Americans are dead from the disease. Virtually everyone knows someone who is no longer with us because of this virus. There are still more cases coming, and that means that there will be more deaths to count in … Continue reading Shot of Comfort
“I really do need all these books.” That’s the message on a coffee cup that sits on one of my bookshelves. I have several bookcases—a whole wall of shelves, in fact. It is part of who I am as a pastor, teacher, counselor, writer, blogger, and person of endless curiosity. I have books on theology, … Continue reading By the Book
I woke up thinking about how the state of the world is affecting me and my psyche. I’m not the only one who is experiencing that these days. Lots of people are not sleeping well, waking uneasily, tossing and turning as the world seems to move from one turmoil to another. We are living in … Continue reading Pandemic, Panic, & Permeability
The COVID-19 crisis grinds on. Social distancing is now an accepted fact of life— indeed, it may be the thing that keeps lots of people alive period. The American people are taking to their homes and washing their hands and cleaning everything around them. There is hope that we are reducing the number of cases, … Continue reading The Fauci Effect
Grace to you and peace. This is another installment in my Epistles from the Epidemic series. I'd like to begin with a modern parable: There was a man who inherited a house. It was a lovely place with many fine details and appointments. It had a unique feel to it. It was large and commodious. … Continue reading Ill-Prepared
Grace and peace to you all. May this find you enjoying good health and abundant hope. Friends, we are in a new season. Last Thursday at 11:50pm EDT we entered spring the earliest we have in the last 124 years. I love the vernal equinox and the energy of life that is budding and blooming … Continue reading I Gave Up “Normal” for Lent
Grace and peace to you all! May this find you enjoying good health and abundant hope! We continue to track the spread and effects of the COVID-19 virus, and we continue to adjust to new and strange realities. We are definitely in uncharted waters. We’re not gathering together as a church right now. The COVID-19 … Continue reading Epistles from the Epidemic II
Grace and peace to you all! May this find you enjoying good health and abundant hope!Having cancelled church gatherings yesterday and having read the most recent news this morning in which this current crisis is going to take some time to resolve, it struck me that I will be pastoring from a social distance (everyone’s … Continue reading Epistles from the Epidemic I
Character in the Making 