Spontaneous planning

Life is a delicate balance between planning and embracing the unexpected. At various times, we face choices that require either preparedness or spontaneity. Both approaches have merits and drawbacks, and understanding their differences can help us navigate life’s twists and turns more effectively. I have always attempted to be prepared, and as my son told me the other day, “I overprepare.”  I am trying to be more spontaneous.  I thought…

Read More

Under Construction

Over the last few weeks, I have been doing quite a bit of traveling by car.  One thing that greeted us across the country was the orange barrels and numerous road construction projects.  For us, the first project was at the entry to our subdivision in Florida. It was a resurfacing project that would shortly become a street-widening event.  As much as we appreciate the finished project, the construction process…

Read More

A Year In to My Retirement

One year ago, I gave my last report as district superintendent and walked off the platform, and a few weeks later, we started our new journey.  Like everyone before me and those coming after,* some things go according to plan, and a few do not. What has gone according to plan? Financial Plan    This is the first item that folks work on as they anticipate retirement.  It is the…

Read More

Mother

Our mom is our first love.  It is hard to deny the bond between a mother and her children.  The second Sunday of May is the day we set aside to honor our mothers. Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia, encouraged the observance of this special day in 1908.  In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official U.S. holiday.  Mother’s Day commemorates and celebrates the best mom in…

Read More

How Do You Make Decisions?

Decision opportunities present themselves hourly.  Often the decisions have little long-term impact or consequence.  Where should we eat?  I need to take my car in for an oil change, etc.  Though eating and servicing your vehicle are necessary, these decisions do not take much pondering or deep analysis.  Then there are those decisions in life that demand introspection, fact-gathering, and counting the cost. Unfortunately, some seem to have things a…

Read More

Observations on my journey

Serving in an interim position has provided me with some unique opportunities.  I have met people I would never have met and visited places I would likely never have seen.   I just this week traveled from my home in Florida to Wisconsin.  Some random conversations and encounters in two airports got me thinking: Is much in life random?   A conversation while waiting in the security line in Sarasota…

Read More

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Lamentations 3 is not a pleasant and upbeat chapter until you arrive at verse 21: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” When facing challenging days, it is easy to believe that we are in ‘unprecedented’ times. Though our trouble may seem…

Read More

I Tell you…

I have come to appreciate Eugene Petersons’ Message, a paraphrase of the Bible.  It is beneficial after hearing verses and hearing them from your favorite translation for a lifetime.  The Message throws open a window that allows you to see it differently. Not different as in twisting it into saying something new or novel, but giving you another way of seeing and hearing the Word. “I tell you, love your…

Read More