He lets me rest in green pastures.   —Psalm 23:2 It’s Sunday morning. Traditionally, it’s time for church and Sunday School. Years ago, people talked about “being fed” and “feeding on God’s Word.” The literal point of the “green pastures”  image in Psalm 23:2 is nourishment. A good shepherd gets the sheep to where they…

He lets me rest  —  Psalm 23:2 (Common English Bible) It’s Saturday morning. It’s the weekend. Is yours packed and crazy?  Are you working?  Is there time to catch your breath? Newer versions of The Bible tend to have Psalm 23:2 changed from the way many of us learned it (“He maketh me to lie down”)…

“I have everything I need.” — Psalm 23:1b One of the advantages of a DVR is that we can fast-forward through commercials.  We sure do that our home. There are still some favorite ones that have at least one of us reaching for the Remote and the Rewind button.  “You seen this one yet?  It’s…

The Lord is my shepherd—Ps. 23:1 If that’s true…. Big breath. Exhale. If that’s true, if the Lord really is our shepherd today, what might that mean?

The late, great Dave the Wonder Dog was a walking combo platter of German Shepherd and Labrador.  He buffed out at about 125 pounds. He could be intimidating when necessary. But when it stormed, he trembled.  Then whimpered.  Then cried. He needed someone right there with him, making eye contact at least.  Touching him reassuringly…

Joseph’s first ten days of life were spent in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I have sketchy memories of that time, a blurriness which extends for several months. Two conversations are clear, however.  The first was when a  grizzled giant of an elderly retired coal miner told he was praying for me.  “Yeah, sure, thanks,” I said.  “Better…

Yesterday was Nathan’s funeral.  Nathan’s the son of a colleague and his wife. Yesterday was Joseph’s birthday.  Joseph’s our son. Both adults with special needs. At least, that’s what I thought yesterday morning. One of the two pastors who preached at Nathan’s funeral helped all of us there to begin to understand things differently. He…

Watching our denomination’s General Conference online this spring was disheartening, for many reasons. However…! “Who’s not here yet?” was asked over the mic at some point. I regret that the note on my paper towel from that moment credits neither the source nor the cause of that question. But what a question it is. At…

Heckler from the dark arena at a Neil Young concert: “All your songs sound alike!” Neil: “It’s all one song.” There’s a church song that says “Love, love, love, love!  The Gospel in a word is love!” What could you do to make that love be your “one song” today?

Looking back over the last several days, we’ve been thinking together about 1st Thessalonians 5:18. We started with the first four words, “In everything, give thanks.”  Then we backed up a bit, scooping up verses 16 and 17.  In the New International Version, those three verses are one sentence: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give…