Heading the Branson

I’m going to Branson and here’s my audition tape!

Seriously. I’m leading a tour group of GUIDEPOSTS readers to Branson, MO, the “Live Music Capital of the World,” in early September. If you’re at all interested, check it out. Come join us. We’ll have a ball. 

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No Worries for Lent

For the second year in a row Carol is giving up worrying for Lent.

I think it’d be easier to give up chocolate. Last year when she said she was doing it, one of our friends exclaimed, “Carol, giving up worrying? That would be like Fred Astaire giving up his tap shoes.” 

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Reading as Praying

I mentioned how hard it was to pray for the loss of a friend and I was still struggling with it until I thought of that visit we had at the hospital, the last time I would see him. He was reading the novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Only a hundred pages to go.

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Just the Two of Us

This is something rare, a picture of Carol and me. In the annals of family photos it’s either me with the boys or Carol with the boys or it’s the boys and their friends. 

This one was taken last weekend when we were in California visiting Tim and Will. We were sitting on a rock at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and Tim said, “Let me take a picture of you.” Snap.

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At Times of Loss

How do you pray for someone who’s gone? 

I visited Frank in the hospital on Wednesday where he was being treated for cancer and it was clear that he was in a lot of pain. Every 15 minutes he could push a button and get a dose of whatever was in the IV bag, but from the way he winced, I knew the drugs were hardly strong enough. “I’m going to Calvary next,” he said, and I tried to hide the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Calvary is hospice care. 

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Creative Love

All week I’ll be thinking about what to get Carol for Valentine’s Day.

My friend Neil Warren, founder of eHarmony, says that you shouldn’t get the usual for the loved one in your life. You should show a little imagination. Forget the long-stemmed roses or the standard box of chocolates. Use your creativity.

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My Umbrella Angel

It was a really rainy day and I wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on outside my window. I guess I was staring at the smaller window of the computer screen. Midday I had to go outside to meet someone for lunch. I took the elevator down and looked outside. Pouring rain. And no umbrella.

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On Your Feet

We were at a rock concert and I was asking myself, “Why are we supposed to stand when we pray?”

First of all, the question. At our church, sometimes we sit when we pray but often we’re expected to stand. That morning, when we did, I wondered if there was a reason for it. Did it help a person get in touch with God?

The question was still in the back of my mind at the rock concert. I have to confess the concert was Carol’s idea. The band is one of her favorites and they were playing at a theater 10 blocks from us. How could we not go?

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Joy Comes in the Morning

I was reading a psalm on the way to work. Psalm 30. It’s got some great lines in it, one of my favorite, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” I thought about how wonderful that was, that the tough stuff only lasts for a while.

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Recycling

In some countries people throw out old pots and pans on New Year’s Eve to get ready for the new. In our neighborhood it was the “Second Annual Electronics Recycling Event.”

Who knew there was such a thing? Carol had spotted this one coming weeks in advance. An environmental group had commandeered a corner of the park for Saturday morning and we were invited to bring our gold, frankincense and myrrh…and all those electronic things in the house that we didn’t need anymore but couldn’t throw away.

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