We were at 20,000 feet in a twin-engine Piper Aerostar over Charleston, West Virginia.I was flying back from a business trip to Cincinnati with my brother-in-law, Bill, in his friend’s airplane. We were heading to High Point, North Carolina where he lived . . .
The Bouvier des Flandres dog is about 28 inches high and weighs over 100 pounds. It is high energy, with a powerful muscular build and very strong willed.
One of the perks I had as a student, was that because my father worked for the Algoma Steel Corporation, it meant I could have a summer job at the Company. Yes, the money was good, however, I was assigned jobs, which I think the leadership saved up to teach us to stay in school and not even think about quitting and being hired full time.
In the small country church, I grew up in, we never practiced the liturgy of Advent and Lent. Oh, we looked forward to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, yet, it wasn’t until my adult years, that I was introduced to these two wonderful seasons of Christ.
Tune your ears to the world of wisdom; set your heart on a life of understanding.
Proverbs 2:2 The MSG.
On our back fence of our home, hangs a large red heart. I tracked down a blacksmith (which is not easy to do) to forge a red heart for Denise for her birthday, to hang on one of our fence panels. She loves red and she loves hearts. At times, she will ask me, “What does your heart say on this?”
Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ –
that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective.
Colossians 3:1 The Msg
Over the past 25 years, we have worked through questions with another couple on New Year’s Eve. One of our four, has kept a journal of our responses and we can look back and see where we were at any point since 1998.
As a young boy, every Friday night was Bible Study at one of the homes in our valley. I especially remember cold, clear, moonlit nights in December driving to one of these homesteads and singing Christmas Carols by lamplight and real candles burning on the pine Christmas tree. Dad played his accordion and Cy his guitar and singing were filled with joy, warmth and volume; being on key was not required.
What does it mean to be an outsider, to not be included?
I suspect many of you could tell a story where you felt this way . . .
