Perspectives

Perspective is an interesting word.  It speaks about how we see things, what our viewpoint is, or what our perception of a thing is.  Perspective is a decidedly subjective thing.  Michal and I were watching a program the other night and one of the players in the drama reminded me of Molly Bixler.  Not so …

Scars

The last time I was in Washington D.C., they were just doing the ground work for the very impressive WWII monument.  I have seen pictures of it and am longing to go back to D.C. and walk its now hallowed plaza. I love D.C. because it is a living monument to our great Republic.  We …

Better Days

Some days are just better than others. I think we all realize that every day is not the same.  Even if we are doing the same routine day after day, not every one of those days are as good as the next.  Have you ever started some days and you just thought, “Oh, it is …

Empathy

Nobody has ever accused me of being “Mr. Compassionate.”  I was always the kind of dad that when one of the kids fell down and skinned a knee I’d say, “Spit on it and rub a little dirt in it.” When one fell off the bike the encouragement might be to “walk it off, there …

Laughing at Cancer

Let me get this “off my chest” right from the beginning: breast cancer is no laughing matter…until it is! Almost from the very beginning, laughter has been one weapon against the scourge of cancer that has come to the surface. I just saw many ironies and potential witticisms (such as the one above) coming out …

Who Shepherds the Shepherd?

As I write this I stand mere hours before my surgery.  It is Sunday afternoon and having celebrated my 62nd birthday with Michal and Ethan at the house (Sarah was working and of course all the rest of the family has returned to their homes). I have spent some time this afternoon reading and contemplating …

Imperfect Faith

Some of you may remember Martha McKeen.  Martha was a charter member of Berean from 1940 when the church began.  When I came to Berean she had just finished her tenure as church secretary.  During her lifetime at Berean she probably served in just about every capacity she could have in the church.  She was …

Bargaining With God

Probably all of us have heard of “foxhole conversions”.  “Foxhole” in this context speaks of a defense mechanism of soldiers in war when they “dig in” to a position producing a hole in the ground from which to escape the line of fire or shrapnel from exploding ordinance.  These holes are referred to as “foxholes” …

Tears

The words of the baseball manager (played by Tom Hanks) of the all girls team he manages in the movie “A League of Their Own” have become iconoclastic in American culture.  One of his female players breaks out in tears during a game and Hanks say, “Are you crying?  Are you crying?  There’s no crying …

“You have Cancer”

Why a blog about the chronicling of my cancer journey? What makes my cancer any different or more important than anyone else’s? We have received notice of scores of a cancer diagnosis over the 25 years I have pastored here. We have prayed for many who heard those words spoken to them. Some…have died. So what makes my cancer more important or “blog worthy” than any one else’s? The answer to that is “nothing” and “much”...