I am glad to be 61 years old on 14 September. Thanks to all who offered birthday wishes. As a rule, I don’t talk about my birthday, plan anything special, or welcome anyone else planning something special. I did not know I had...
Read MoreOn a quiet afternoon when everyone else was taking a nap I taught myself to write. I was five years old and tired of waiting for anyone to teach me. I took a pad of paper, a pencil, my mother’s grocery list and began to copy....
Read MoreI finished reading through the Bible a few weeks ago. The plan was to take a full year, but I read ahead and finished early. I started a new reading plan the next day. I started the ESV Study Bible reading plan that includes...
Read MoreFour months of full-time study and the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) credential did not wow a lot of hiring managers when I began looking for a full-time job. For example, I applied for a position as a network...
Read MoreI was deeply rooted in Birmingham, Alabama. I had friends from work, friends from church, friends from the running community, friends from the gym, and friends from the Beginning Experience ministry. I began growing roots in...
Read MoreAt Ensley Elementary School, I wanted to be a teacher. At Wedgewood Middle School, I wanted to be a high school student. At J.M. Tate High School, I wanted to own my own motorcycle repair shop, be a doctor, and be the Vice...
Read MoreDiane Appleyard called me out as a talented writer when I was a student at J.M. Tate High School in the early 70s. I inspired her to get permission to establish a class in Creative Writing. I signed up, but then treated the...
Read MoreWe studied chemistry as eighth graders at Wedgwood Middle School in 1970. We learned about laboratory equipment, chemicals, catalysts, and reagents. We also learned about careers in chemistry. Class was fun and I asked my...
Read MoreI had attended Pensacola Junior College from 1975 to 1977 where tuition was $12 per credit hour. So it was a big deal when my father agreed to pay for me to attend Mississippi College where tuition was $57 per credit hour and I...
Read MoreThe lower story of the house I grew up in was bricked and the upper story was clad with aluminum siding. The trim was wood and had to be painted every few years. Mine was a do-it-yourself family, so I learned to paint as a boy....
Read MoreTen years ago my wife organized a surprise 50th birthday party for me. Twenty of my best local friends showed up at my favorite Cuban...
Read MoreI felt called to preach when I was 17 years old just a few months after converting from Roman Catholic to Southern Baptist. I don’t remember exactly when I preached my first sermon, but am pretty sure it was before I turned 18...
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Not often, but occasionally, I have wished I was an alcoholic. I have spent hundreds of hours in AA meetings over the past 37 years. My first was in 1982 when my work as a new Chaplain Resident at the University of Mississippi...
Read MorePastor Lauren Colwell delivered the greatest children’s sermon I’ve ever heard this morning. I am a connoisseur of children’s sermons, so my praise is a big deal. I would repeat what Lauren said, but she talked about what it is...
Read MoreThe first “Christian” book that I read in 1974 or 1975 as a teenager was Charles Sheldon’s 1896 novel In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? I think I need to read that book again because I may have been so attentive to some...
Read MoreMatthew gave us a long list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ at the start of his Gospel. Most of us are content to skip over or skim through the names to get to Matthew’s stories, but every name represents a story and some of...
Read MoreI am glad to be 61 years old on 14 September. Thanks to all who offered birthday wishes. As a rule, I don’t talk about my birthday, plan anything special, or welcome anyone else planning something special. I did not know I had...
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