The leaves are turning their reds, oranges, and yellows, and some trees are already bare. The soybeans are coming off the field. Dark comes sooner now.
It’s harvest time in Michigan.

I hired a young man to mow my yard. Once a week, I told him. He came the first time, did a fine job, took his money — and I never saw him again.

I had a friend growing up who had his own water park. Well — his dad owned it, and it was named after him.

One day his dad invited me to spend the day at the park. While we were there, my friend hopped up and sat on a railing. A young woman who worked at the park walked by and said, "Hey, get off the railing."

Gunnison and I pulled into the church last week and stopped by the big white pine to enjoy the property. My car startled a red-tailed hawk from its perch somewhere in the weeds, and it flew close alongside my car. I drove alongside it until the hawk ascended high into the air. I looked down, and a deer was watching me from the softball field. In a moment, the hawk and the deer were gone — and so was my breath. I looked at Gunnison and we didn’t say anything at all because we didn’t need to. 

I love it and I hate it, this first day of school.

I love the routine, the beginning of a new season, a time to begin again. And I hate sending my kids away. Every year I contemplate home education. I know hate is a strong word. I mean it.

You rode the big ride
but you didn't ask me to come.

Deacon Frank (name changed to protect your Pastor) came to the meeting with a frown on his face and an agenda all his own.

If you walk into FBC of Sister Bay, Wisconsin, turn right past the gym doors, and take another right, you'll be in the youth room. I don't know if it still looks this way, but when I was the youth pastor there, it was covered from one end to the other in handprints.

I have been working too much lately. I overcommitted, or assumed I was more proficient than I am. Many days in a row, all I wanted was to go to bed. I even talked to the Lord about getting rest and catching up on what I'd promised people.

I needed some glue I normally order from Italy, but didn't have time to wait. I figured the hardware store down Middle St. would do.

Walking over, I felt a bit of nostalgia. Who walks to a hardware store anymore?

Hand Over The Heart.

When I was young, my dad was very serious about the fact that when the national anthem played or the flag passed at a parade, I was to stand, take off my hat, and cover my heart. I didn't like it because my friends didnt have to.

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through a stack of pictures. They were all people doing church activities.

I saw Ed probably in his late 20’s. He looked

I am often alone in the building after the sun sets, especially in the winter, and it scares me. The elevator resets itself, I get startled, and then I start making up stories in my head. 

I have watched Dave and Dave, the committee of sound, put in countless hours making sure our sound system is professional. Not