Category Archives: Uncategorized

Once again, we’re on the road to Connecticut to my wife’s family thanksgiving celebration. We’ve missed it only once since 1990. Sometimes I wish we could have our own dinner and not travel, but mostly I’m glad we still have family to see. This one is going to be a bit different since my mother-in-law just broke her wrist last night and will be having surgery Friday. Alas, no getting up early to shop this year. Please pray that she would be comforted and strengthened for the surgery. She’s 75 (I think) and prone to much anxiety.

Despite her situation, I am still looking forward to cranberry sauce (not the jelly kind either) and pumpkin pie. Mmmm.

Thank you Lord for another year of overflowing blessings.

Recently, I was away for the day and driving home around dinner time. The traffic was bad and I was trying not to allow a foul mood to overtake me. I called home to tell Kim when I was going to arrive. I could tell she was tired so I asked to talk to my 6 year old, Jared. Jared loves cars. he obsesses over them actually, especially their exhaust systems. He has learned that expensive cars have more than one exhaust pipe (unlike ours); “gas impressers” he used to call them for some reason. He can identify the make/model of cars from quite a distance, “That’s a VW Jetta, it has 2 tail pipes…that’s a Mercedes Benz, it has only one exhaust in the center…” I can tell you that some times I find it very annoying but this time I didn’t. I narrated the cars that were passing me and the number of tail pipes each one had. From our kitchen he then told me a little something about each car.

A silly pointless conversation? No, a bonding time and protection from becoming angry about the wasted time in traffic. I’m thankful for hands-free phones and my son’s willingness to share his love for cars with me.

I’ll be at CCEF’s Living Faith Conference this weekend at the Valley Forge Convention Center. The conference is covering the topic of broken relationships. I’m glad to see they have Carl Ellis speaking there. He is fun to listen to and has the scars to show he knows what he is talking about when it comes to difficult life circumstances. Even better, he likes to laugh at his own jokes. If you haven’t seen his book, Free at Last? The Gospel in the African American Experience, you ought to take a look, though I will admit its better to here him in living color than to read the book. He just adds so much more than the page will allow.

The usual CCEF suspects will be there: Paul Tripp, David Powlison, Ed Welch and the hardworking 3rd generation of teachers (Clark, Emlet, Lane, B. Smith, W. Smith, and more). The conference workshop titles suggest it won’t just be about how to make your relationships all better, but how to live within a broken relationship. John Freeman from HarvestUSA will be talking to parents of gay children. A number of other folks will be speaking as well. I’ll give you some highlights next week.

If you’ve nothing to do and you want an interesting evening tonight, Paul Tripp and the Gettys are leading something called, The artwork of grace: An evening of imagination using words and music to give you a glimpse of the unseen. Its at 7:30 and only $10. for non-registrants. 

Went to sleep with a heavy heart as one of our church elders passed away this week…but awoke with this song in my head. No obvious reason why since I haven’t heard it sung in awhile.

I will sing of my redeemer and his wonderous love to me;
On the cruel cross he suffered from the curse to set me free.

I will tell the wonderous story, how my lost estate to save;
In his boundless love and mercy, He the ransom freely gave.

I will paise my dear redeemer, his triumphant power I’ll tell;
How the victory he giveth over sin and death and hell.

I will sing of my redeemer, and his heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath bro’t me, son of God, with him to be.

Sing, O sing of my redeemer, with his blood, he purchased me;
On the cross he sealed my pardon, paid the debt and set me free.

Words by Philip Bliss, 1876.

While the Fall leaves here are nothing compared to my beloved VT/NH/ME, we in South-eastern PA are enjoying the last bits of color these days. (To me, the difference between fall leaves in New England and fall leaves here is like the difference between a homegrown tomato and one you buy in the grocery store in February, or the difference between an orange in FL and one we get months later up here.) The tree in our neighbor’s yard was bright yellow yesertday and now those leaves are on the ground. We seem to have a number of yellow/orange trees in Abington. I love to stand in front of one and drink in the color. There’s something peaceful about it. It makes my eyes happy.

It had just stopped raining yesterday when I drove to work. The dark clouds, the wet tree trunks, green grass, and the red, yellow, and orange leaves reflecting light reminded me of a drive up the Taconic parkway some years ago. Even though it was pouring, the leaves made it seem like the sun was out. It is nature’s antidepressant, but even better–no side effects. Too bad it doesn’t last…