May 18, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
Marilyn and I had just begun dating and when her dad heard that for a few measly bucks he could put 2,000 miles between me and his daughter. It was 1965 at a youth conference in Chillicothe, Ohio, that I learned of an incredible opportunity. The speaker mentioned in...
May 11, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
Ordinary sentences took on the appearance of an official document when penned in my mother’s beautiful handwriting. As a boy, I proudly presented my mother’s excuse slips to my teachers—“Please excuse Ronnie’s absence as he was sick”—and they would comment about her...
May 4, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
I’m embarrassed to admit, I still have to type out my texts and emails while the cool kids merely whisper commands into theirs. The developmental rate of digital devices has reached warp speed. It seems each week a more intuitive personal electronic device is...
Apr 27, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
Older brothers become heroes and role models whether you want them to or not. It’s not a choice you make. You don’t wake up one morning and say, “Hey, my big brother is a cool guy, I’m gonna be just like him!” Nope. Like that funky, strange smelling corduroy coat,...
Apr 20, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
My fingers rapped the steering wheel to the rhythm of a nameless tune. Preoccupied with a list of stops I’d yet to make, I was totally unaware that my nervous energy had percolated to the surface as I waited for the light to change. There it is—green!—but the dude in...
Apr 13, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
She checked her hair in the front door’s reflection before entering the body shop. Her gaunt frame, pale complexion and obvious wig were clear signs of a seasoned cancer patient. She smiled and quietly asked, “Can I get an estimate?” The receptionist recorded her...
Apr 6, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco… mine is holed up in Sugar Grove. I’ve never actually lived there, but from my first day at Berne Union in Mrs. Hoover’s first grade class through the last homeroom class with Mrs. Nimon (who was also my third grade...
Mar 30, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
In the early 50’s, my family consisted of four brothers and two grownups named Mom and Dad. America hadn’t discovered soccer and so the minivan was still a gleam in Lee Iacocca’s eye, leaving families to lumber around in bulbous sedans. We had a 1950 Mercury with a...
Mar 23, 2014 | Blog Post, Weekly Devo
Each Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. I gather with a group of friends at a local restaurant to sip coffee and resolve the world’s problems. The restaurant is inviting; its nooks and crannies provide a sense of privacy and unhurried reflection. We are the first customers...
