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I’m trying out the Blood Type diet. I’ve been hitting it fairly hard-core for the past 27 days. I like the healthy benefits, but not necessarily the glares and stares I get from people eating with me. Yesterday for breakfast, I had green tea and a bowl of spinach and cucumbers. No dressing. Mmmm. My incredibly insensitive and non-loving friend across the table had eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee. The nerve of that guy! I think I was breaking several…
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How do you finish this phrase: Home is where ___________________. You hang your hat? You wake up? The heart is? You are? I’m with you? After a busy week and Thursday night, we got in late. It was good to be home. Michael’s 8th grade graduation was today. The rains have begun, and we’re finally back home. It’s especially good to be home when it’s raining outside. Lauren’s home from college. Yea! Morgan’s on the couch taking a nap. Michael…
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Shadows are a curious thing. Little kids can’t seem to comprehend nor run from them. My teenagers lurk in shadows and cause late night screams from terrified siblings. Shadows can be dark and black. Sometimes they are filled with lighter shades of gray. Shadows cause respite from the heat of the Sun. They can also instill fear for what’s looming in impending darkness. Politics have shadows. Parenting requires an almost daily navigation of shadows. There are shadows within marriage, finances,…
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How many pastors does it take to replace a light bulb? Some say it depends on the flavor of pastor. It would take ten Pentecostal pastors — one to change the light bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. A Baptist pastor could not change the bulb himself without a congregational vote. Only one TV preacher would be required, but there would be a huge need for one hundred people to sow a seed offering of $1,000…
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Think about your time in Middle and High School. What are the first things that come to mind? Is it baggy jeans, bleached-blonde hair, and beaded necklaces? Or is it neon colors, acid washed-jeans, and a perm? Maybe even bell-bottoms and platform shoes? Or was it listening to 90’s music on your brand-new, anti-skip “Disc-Man?” Or maybe 80’s music on the bright-yellow “Walk-Man” cassette player or even 70’s music on the 8-track… Or maybe your mind goes to the tension…
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Sometimes you just have to celebrate. The endurance of anything for 30 years deserves a little party. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, “(There is) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” On Sunday, it’s time to celebrate 30 Years of Grace at Cumberland Community Church. We’ve taken a healthy look back at the rich heritage of CCC. We’ve considered the rich banquet table God has currently set for Cumberland. Our present…
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I can talk vision all day long. I can see tremendous possibilities for the future of Cumberland and where God might be leading us. You should be a little weary of such bold language from your Pastor. Why? Because IF I only give you my vision, you and the church at Cumberland may be robbed of God’s greater vision encompassing immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine — according to His power at work within us, and for…
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Aren’t feasts fun? This week, my son, Michael, planned a gourmet burger feast for the 50th birthday party of a friend. He planned, and schemed, and worked at having big, juicy, thick turkey burgers piled with lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, BBQ sauce, onion rings, pickles, bacon, and topped off with a toasted, buttered buns. Wow. It really was a feast! The best part went well beyond the eating. The people, laughter, friendships, gift giving, Blue Ridge cabin, and photographic moments captured…
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Hanging in my closet is a really old varsity Letterman’s jacket . There’s a big, orange “W” and “Spartans” on the back. “Alan 78” is embroidered on the left chest area. White leather sleeves MAKE this jacket the absolute bomb. Still pinned to my jacket are gold tennis rackets and cross-country feet for the years I made the Spartan sports program proud! I donned that old musty jacket the other day and walked downstairs into the kitchen. Michael said, “What’s…
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How much do my sins cost? Is that a strange question? The Bible says the wages of my sin is death (Romans 6;23a). The term “wages” reflects what a soldier was paid for combat duty. In the first century it was often broiled fish. Sometimes Roman soldiers also received salt as payment. However, fish was the preferred compensation. It sustained life and economics. Without fish in the first century, life was all but impossible. Fish would have been great pay…
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