It’s an interesting time right now in my household. After weeks (and weeks) of waiting, we are making progress on the Big Freeze-damaged bathrooms.  Anticipating a time when we will…

The glamorous couple in this photo are Lynn and Glenda Vowell. The baby in Glenda’s arms is her firstborn child, a daughter, my sister-in-law Tawni. Lynn is meeting Tawni for…

(This Blog is Going to the Dog(s)...) I was reading the newspaper, groaning, and shaking my head.  This combination is routine for me – the reading, the groaning, and the…

I’ve been reading a C.S. Lewis devotional book during Lent. As always with his work, I have been blessed and challenged and coaxed to think harder and deeper. This passage…

This will be short, written in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri – known in local parlance as “Snowmageddon.”  My week has been similar to millions in this region: very,…

For the last several months, I have had trouble sleeping through the night. Inexplicably wide awake at 2 or 3 in the morning, I strain to hear the clock chiming…

circa 2020 Eighteen months ago, I had knee surgery that was supposed to be “no big deal.” The average recovery time was under 6 weeks; my doctor was confident that…

“That perpetual weary turning back to the past for refuge that we are all more or less guilty of these days is not the natural reaction to the challenge... we…

Summertime in Texas started to wind down this week. Yes, this week - the end of September. Summer began back in May, when the temperatures first climbed toward triple digits…

Next Monday is Labor Day. We think of this annual national holiday mostly as a "last hurrah" for summertime.  Gatherings centered on barbecue-and-beer, a final weekend at the beach, the day before school starts, etc.  The brief pause of Labor Day signals a segue' in tempo: from long, lazy vacay-days to shorter, stricter school-days; a syncopated downbeat before the pace picks up double-quick.