Does he cave in to peer pressure and go along with the crowd?

Be careful not to get the approach backward

Why should I do the right then when no one else does?

To make progress...we have to own up

Are you ready for a quick trip to Chinatown? ...Let's go!

Faithful to God even when it's not easy.

What do you mean...IF I can?

Go ahead and step out

Is Christianity offensive?

Hmm... should we cut-over to air conditioning during a snow storm?

The man who so capably handles our heating and air conditioning needs at the church is here doing some of the preliminary work in preparation for the cutover to air conditioning.

(Hold on! Wait!!! Don’t get nervous! He’s not doing the cutover to air conditioning YET! He’s just doing some of the prep. We will still have heat in the building this weekend!)

In the meantime, I’m sitting here laughing—okay, I’m partially crying, too—about weather in Chicago because we are expecting snow today. Yep, no kidding… SNOW! So, we are preparing to change the system over to air conditioning and we’ll probably be getting about 20 or 30 inches of snow today. (Or, perhaps, a little less than that.)

Does anybody have a spare ticket to Fort Myers they could lend me?

Religion is not what we are seeking

Gratitude is a necessary part of happiness

Yes, I'm transparent...but not THAT transparent

Rehearsal...making things "perfect" for Sunday

I had to learn it the hard way

Moral failures. Be careful about becoming too isolated.

Talking some more about my friend Stan Williams

Hey...check out C2E2 with me!

We don't want what we deserve

Stan's talk at Anderson University

Stan Williams, one of my beloved roommates from college, spoke at our alma mater,

Anderson University today. Stan has ALS. He spoke candidly, without being sad or depressing, about what that means for him, including the fact that his remaining time has been considerably cut short.

Stan's talk was interesting, fun, wise, challenging, spiritually profound, insightful and, like Stan, witty. (Although, I thought it was in somewhat poor taste for him to take up two offerings.)

I am so proud of this man. He is living well and--this is important--he is thoughtfully, purposefully, meaningfully helping others, while he demonstrates to us--with God's help--how to end well.

[Note: I also appreciated the fact that Stan waited until after the big public talk to reminisce with other college friends, Debba and Jordan, about some of the more regrettable hijinx we engaged in during those fun-filled times a hundred, or so, years ago. Lol!]

When love is tremendously challenging

Jesus is the one who couldn't be found at a tomb