September 10, 2012 · 7:37 am

People Matter

In his book “A Gentle Thunder” Max Lucado tells the story of Karen Hill who is an Administrate Assistant in Austin, Texas.  Karen underwent surgery in a local hospital and when she  awoke in the recovery room, she could hear the moaning of a fellow patient.  She could hear a sympathetic nurse trying to comfort him.

“Settle down, Tom,” she said.” But still he moaned.  “It’s all right, Tom.  Just go with the pain.”

The man was quiet for a few moments, but began groaning again. “It’s okay, Tom. You’ll be fine.”  Finally the patient spoke.  Continue reading →

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September 7, 2012 · 6:55 am

IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! Oh, What A Savior!

          Politicians weren’t the only ones seeking attention at the Republican and Democratic National conventions.  American Atheists were trying to arrest the attention of Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and their faithful followers.  Specially prepared billboards mocking Christianity by calling God “sadistic” and Jesus a “useless” Savior with the image of Jesus on toast, and hailing atheism as “Simply Reasonable” were to appear in both Tampa and Charlotte.  Continue reading →

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September 6, 2012 · 6:48 am

The SandCastles of Life

I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy lately.  Maybe reflective is a better word. Or meditative. Or Contemplative.   I don’t know if it’s the number of funerals that I’ve attended or preached lately that reminds me of my own mortality.  Maybe it’s been the process of sifting through all our ‘stuff’ during our move that has become a weariness of the flesh! Or perhaps it’s the moral mess our country is in that is dismaying. Continue reading →

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September 5, 2012 · 6:10 am

An Intentional Act of Kindness

“If you want to look for a needle in haystack, go ahead.”  said Gary Gaddist’s co-workers at the New York City’s Parks Department.  Fortunately for Danielle Hatherly-Carroll the sanitation truck driver was up to the challenge.   So  Gary began digging through hundreds of garbage bags that were stored on Randalls Island and he found it!  What did he find?  Continue reading →

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September 4, 2012 · 6:13 am

Fight One More Round

It happened 120 years ago. On September 7, 1892, James J. Corbett won the first heavyweight championship prize-fight in which the contestants used boxing gloves. Corbett won the match against John L. Sullivan with a knockout in the twenty-first round.  That’s right the 21st round!  However three-year earlier Corbett had to go 27 rounds, boxing with bare knuckles, to defeat fellow hall-of-famer Joe Choynski.

James J. Corbett also had a way with words.  Knowing his background, we can appreciate them even better when he said: Continue reading →

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September 3, 2012 · 6:27 am

Why Are You Working?

           Sir Christopher Michael Wren was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in English history.  Following London’s great fire in 1666 he was given the responsibility for rebuilding 51 houses of worship.  His masterpiece was St. Paul’s Cathedral which was completed in 1710.

Legend has it that one day the famed architect visited the construction site of this magnificent edifice.  He was unrecognized by the workers so he walked around asking various men what they were doing. Continue reading →

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August 31, 2012 · 6:01 am

IT’S FRIDAY. BUT SUNDAY’S COMING! Weathering the Storm

Even though we are 1248 miles away, we were watching.  Waiting. Wondering. Would tropical storm Isaac become a hurricane?  Would it hit Tampa?   What would happen if Tampa took a direct hit?  How severe would it be?  And why did we care from so far away? Continue reading →

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August 30, 2012 · 6:14 am

Knowing When To Say “No”

Tuesday night I watched with interest several of the RNC speakers. The diversity was interesting.  Not only from the standpoint of race or gender, but of speaking style and content. Probably the most interesting contrasts were the final two speakers–Ann Romney and Governor Chris Christie.   Mrs. Romney presented a warm, personal and heart-felt plea for us to know her husband better.  And Christie was feisty, fervent and fiery in his presentation.  The governor had several quotable lines from his speech.  One that I particularly liked was this statement. Continue reading →

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August 29, 2012 · 7:29 am

What is Man?

 Neil Armstrong died last Saturday just two days following our 44th wedding anniversary.  Norma Jean  and I had only been married for 11 months when Armstrong made the historical flight on Apollo 11.  I remember that Sunday evening.  I had preached that day.  And we returned to our apartment on Bearss Avenue in Tampa.  Turned on our little black and white TV.  We heard Neil Armstrong say those famous words, “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Continue reading →

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August 28, 2012 · 6:47 am

Let Your Light Shine

Did you hear the joke about a circus owner who was walking down the street in a tourist district and saw crowd of people around a table watching a show.  On the table was  a pot turned upside down  and a duck tap dancing on it.  The circus owner was so impressed that he offered to buy the duck from its owner. After some haggling the owner agreed to sell the duck and the pot for $10,000.

A couple of days later the circus owner returns to the owner.  “Your duck is a  rip-off!”  He says angrily.  “I put him on the pot in front of a big audience and he didn’t dance  a single step!” Continue reading →

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