Our mailbox leads a rather solitary existence. It interacts with our mail carrier once a day, sees either Janice or me the same amount—and that’s it—except for the many vehicles that drive by. Only the vehicles don’t always drive by. One time during a rainstorm a car came off the road and ran over theContinue reading “A Mailbox, a Note, and a Good Neighbor”
Category Archives: Personally Speaking
A Little Debbie Christmas
It was two days before Christmas in 2020, and one of our friends was down with Covid. She is a schoolteacher, she and her husband have a little girl, and of course she had to remain isolated from both of them. It was a real bummer, but it was just one of those new realitiesContinue reading “A Little Debbie Christmas”
Papa Duster
That’s the name Janice gave to a 1975 Plymouth Duster we had for parts of three decades. I had bought it brand-new for $3,300 before we met in January of 1976. Actually, it was my father who purchased the car and set up a payment plan for me. I was a freshman in college, butContinue reading “Papa Duster”
The Power Of Faith
I wrote this post when Zig Ziglar passed away in 2012. For those of you who don’t recognize the name, he was probably the top motivational speaker of the 80’s and 90’s. Along with Dr. Robert Schuller (of Crystal Cathedral fame), Ziglar popularized the kind of thinking that Norman Vincent Peale had written about a generation earlierContinue reading “The Power Of Faith”
Sunshine Or Storms
As I write this, Isaac has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is headed toward Mississippi and Arkansas. If you pay any attention to these storms, you come to the realization (sooner or later) that unpredictability is one of their central features. For all of our tracking and technology, our models and projections, weContinue reading “Sunshine Or Storms”
Turning Brokenness Into Beauty
When our children were very young, my wife and I made an important economic/ascetic decision. Rather than go on vacations to places we really couldn’t afford and our kids wouldn’t appreciate, we would go to state parks instead. You could rent a cabin at just about any park for a very affordable price and withContinue reading “Turning Brokenness Into Beauty”
The Fear of (Not) Falling
Our daughter, Amy, and her family live in Raleigh, NC (about 8 hours away), so when they told us they would be in Birmingham (2 hours away) for a wedding—we were excited about the opportunity to see them. As it worked out, we were able to spend some time with Amy and her husband, Drew,Continue reading “The Fear of (Not) Falling”
Living With Open Hands
Christmas is going to be different for us this year—radically different. In the past year we lost Janice’s father and her mother is now in the memory care unit of a residential facility (she suffers from severe dementia). My mother also passed away. All of this means we won’t be making the trip to the Hendrixson’sContinue reading “Living With Open Hands”
Welcome Sam
Our first grandchild (Sam), is a week old. So far, I think I’ve done okay in my efforts to avoid being the obnoxious grandparent who acts like they are the first person ever to have a grandchild or that their little darling is somehow more special than the little darlings of others. It hasn’t been easy atContinue reading “Welcome Sam”
Welcome Reed
Our second grandson, Reed, came into the world about two-and-a-half weeks ago. As far as I know (and I think I’d know), his parents have been blessed with relative normalcy. Of course, they’re on the steep part of the learning curve so even the routine can be challenging and at times intimidating, but still, things are goingContinue reading “Welcome Reed”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 