Serve by Design

Dawson, our "sweet and innocent" (usually sweet, but not always innocent! 👱) four-year-old grandson, was recently disciplined by his thirteen-year-old sister, Chloe. She often plays the part of the "mother hen" when charged with childcare duties while her parents are virtually teaching. "Daws" later protested to his mother by explaining, "You won't believe this!  Chloe put me in time out and I really wasn't that naughty!" We love this kid's creative flair for expressing himself! He just may grow up to be a politician... or a preacher! I've seen some televised images of adults at play during these early days of "unofficial summer" who are attempting to finesse their way around the need for social distancing. It appears that after weeks and months of social shutdown, the tidal wave of pent-up anger could not be held back any longer. Bill McKenzie, a local professional therapist, had an interesting interpretation of what

(These reflections were adapted from what was read at a recent celebration of life service for one of my cherished Texas friends. Regrettably, I was unable to participate in the service due to cautions surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic.)  Monique and I along with our 13-month old son, Matthew, moved to Granbury, Texas in September of 1977. I had already been attending seminary classes in Fort Worth for a month when the opportunity came to serve the First Baptist Church, Granbury as an Associate Pastor of Education/ Outreach. As it would turn out, my office would be adjacent to the work space of the church's secretary, Kitty Best. Our work-day lives would be inextricably connected for the next seven and a half years. Kitty Best June 8, 1929 - May 12, 2020 Although Kitty was the church's only secretary, she was so much more! Today, she would have the title Administrative Assistant. She managed our office and did so without computers, WiFi/ Internet service, or any of

We have a family member who is the proprietor of a highly specialized and successful business in a major East Coast city. During a recent conversation. he surprised me by remarking, "I don't want to go back to the normal we were in before (the COVID-19 Pandemic)! Let's rebuild something better!" Although admitting that "we shut down our business and let everyone go in the hope of re-hiring whenever we get the green light," he was strongly advocating for change as things slowly begin to reopen in his city. Image compliments of lifehack.org Change is inevitable and becoming our new reality. I've heard many comments in the past weeks that we will not be returning to the "old normal" without substantial medical intervention like a vaccine or antibody therapies. So, what will things look like in the future? What should they look like? We can only speculate that things will be different as we move forward. There are the familiar protocols of

After several weeks of staying at home, several parts of the country are cautiously beginning to open up and allow a controlled re-entry back into the "old normal" that we all cherish and are missing. Businesses, recreational gatherings, and churches are trying to find a way to get back to this needed normality and productivity . People have been unemployed, socially isolated, and unable to join in their familiar communities of work, play and worship for too long. This pent up frustration has resulted in some push back and protests that have made enough waves to make the evening news. Image compliments of Jon Tyson www.splash.com We Americans cherish our freedoms and do not like the constraints placed upon us by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are a restless folk that claim our constitutional rights and privileges! When someone tries to tell us otherwise, it is second nature to begin flexing our independent muscles. The health community is reservedly saying that we should no