Church of the Redeemer -Selma, CA

Several weeks ago during our morning worship service I noticed my great-nephew, Jonas, sitting high on the shoulders of his Dad, Jason. As the music was playing, Jason was singing, and he began swaying from side to side; as he did so . . . I noticed that little Jonas put his arms high up in the air and he began to sway in time with his Dad.

I smiled as I watched the two of them and it struck me how some might have grabbed a hold at the first sign of movement, clinging as it were, for dear life. Instead, there was Jonas, sitting tall and fearless, swaying in rhythm with his Dad . . . trusting that he was in control of the situation and would not let him fall. Read more…

I am sitting here thinking about life lines . . . you know . . . when someone is drowning and a person on the shore throws them the round, white floaty-thingy with a rope attached. The person grabs on and can be pulled safely to shore . . . and all is well.

The other day in Visalia, CA, we had just such an incident; only this time it was people with guns running from the law, shots rang out and the awful words, “Officers down.” Read more…

Everybody makes mistakes . . . there is just no getting around it.

Someday, someway…you are going to say the wrong thing, go where you were told not to go, or do something you have been taught is forbidden, unhealthy, irrational, unwise. . .

No matter what, sooner or later you will do something that someone else thought you shouldn’t do. . . and it will be called. . . a MISTAKE (did the earth shake as I said that?) Read more…

Yesterday we bid a fond farewell to a dear friend of many, George L. Page.

Nelson shared a remembrance of George during the service; had I shared something, mine would have been about the same event . . . it impacted us both that much!

Early in our ministry, Nelson and I were called to the home of a family whose 10 yr. old son had just passed away from cancer. When we arrived we were greeted by Dad and Sister, and off in another room was the Mother . . . and laying in her arms was the still warm body of her son. Without thinking, I fell to my knees, gathered her in my arms, and just held on.

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Last week our two granddaughters were spending the night with us and Jadyn, who is 9 years old, was feeling a bit low. The reason?

Well for starters, her Grandma Paula was in the hospital having surgery that evening; it had been Back to School Night, which her parents had to miss . . . and lastly . . . simply because she was hurting . . . and her Mom and Dad were not there.

When it was time for bed, Jadyn came to my room and said, “Think I will just lay in here with you a bit.” Then without a moment’s hesitation, she climbed in, pressed herself into my arms and with no other words, drew from a single hug, all the comfort she was in need of. That night, the two of us dozed off, intertwined in each other’s arms . . . and we slept.

The next day as I was reflecting on the previous night’s episode, I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered Jadyn laying there in my arms. And then the thought came to me, “Why don’t more people do that with Father?”

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