Serve by Design

Can you imagine siting in your car for 30 to 45 minutes behind a line of 50 cars stretching several blocks and winding around streets? Add in another 30 pedestrians who had parked nearby and were now lined up outside of this business where a competition has obviously emerged between foot and motorized traffic during peak hours. What was this all about? This was a typical weekend exercise in patience as patrons waited for their World Famous Round Rock Donuts! Our son and daughter-in-law were on the “donut run” this particular Sunday morning at 8:00am all in an effort to retrieve a special treat for the “visiting old folks” and themselves. The treat was none other than a dozen of the quintessential fresh-hot, absolutely delectable and of course, well-storied (This is Texas!) and carefully packaged glazed donuts! Round Rock, Texas I had a lesson in patience years ago at a DQ in Calvert, Texas! I had just attended a denominational meeting in Fort Worth and was on my way back home to Southw...

Prayer on our home driveway. Extended conversations about family, health and life issues. Connecting, affirming, and showing loving concern for neighbors. This is a brief list of things I have recently undertaken in the front yard of our house. You could call them “front yard encounters.” Have you noticed how most front yards are relationally underutilized?   I realize this may be a misperception. There are some houses that have beautiful, wrap-around porches extending from the front door area. Many of these have porch swings and big wood rocking chairs that make a relaxing setting for home owners to look out to the street and the surrounding neighborhood. Beth's Turquoise Table Granbury, Texas Yet, in too many instances, we tend to retreat to the backyard to host our connecting events. It is here in this often out-of-sight setting that we have cookouts, swim parties and gatherings on the patio or deck. It is true that we have to mow the grass and tend to the flowers and shrubs at ...

During the summer games of the 2021 Olympics from Tokyo, we heard a lot about a condition some athletes deal with that is appropriately designated as the "twisties" or being "lost in space." There are an incredible number of rolls, spins and twists that precision divers undertake jumping off the platforms in the aquatic competitions. Equally skilled and gifted women gymnasts also execute these in their routines on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and in the floor exercises. I can certainly understand how they could lose their sense of spatial orientation and put themselves in considerable danger of serious injury during entry into the water or by a missed landing on a hard surface. Image Credit: flickr.com Sports' specialists across the spectrum, including basketball players and golfers, say that the ability to keep the mind and body in sync is crucial to success. They speak of "muscle memory" and the ability to instantly recall skills and maneuver...