Relearning the Value of Physical Work

I was tired. Really tired! I might even have experienced heat exhaustion. Anyway, it was hot, ninety-five degrees to be exact, and I was exhausted. Moving dirt, laying sod and pushing a lawn roller filled with water is hard work even when it is not scorching. But I feel fulfilled… Continue reading

Aunt Berthie

When you get married, you not only marry your wife or your husband, but you are also grafted into each other’s family, and their traditions. One of Patty’s family’s Memorial Day traditions was to visit the various small town cemeteries where loved ones were buried to place flowers on their… Continue reading

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

Recently, I was face-to-face with someone I thought highly of and we were in the midst of a serious disagreement about political issues. It has happened several times with several people. While I enjoy a good open discussion, I don’t enjoy these encounters. In these situations, I am usually shocked… Continue reading

A Surprising Source of Spiritual Authority

I am going to suggest what might seem like a strange, or even heretical source of spiritual authority, but first I want to consider the usual suspects. Many people are looking for something they can hitch their wagon to. They want to be able to point somewhere and say this… Continue reading

It All Comes Down to Relationships

On March 3, 1991, in the wee hours of the morning three friends who had spent the night watching basketball and drinking were speeding on Interstate 210 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. A California Highway Patrol unit gave chase, but the driver refused to pull over. The… Continue reading

Ditch Digging and Dining Room Tables

Something beautiful happens in ditches and dining rooms. More specifically, it happens when we dig a ditch with another laborer and share our table with another diner. Chip Gains introduced me to that concept. Chip and his wife Joanna are the stars of the hit HGTV show, Fixer Upper. Chip… Continue reading

The Coffee Pot’s Secret Recipe

My favorite breakfast place in the world is The Coffee Pot. What’s not to love? The food is fabulous, the menu interesting, the location full of character and charm, and the service is dependably friendly and efficient. So, I decided to meet with owners, Julie Zorn and Janis Barnhil to… Continue reading

Help for a Polarized Nation

This was my column in the Kenosha News in February, but is still very relevant. We have a very energetic president who currently lives alone, doesn’t require much sleep, works weekends, and tweets before most people are awake. So, there is no telling what may have happened in the intervening… Continue reading

The View from the Mayor’s Office

The view from the mayor’s office on the third floor of the municipal building is impressive. Harbor Park is on full display on one side and downtown on the other. It is just high enough to be grand, but not so high that you can’t see a lot of detail… Continue reading

Loving Life

Dan Stika lives a full life doing the things he loves and giving back to the community. He has lived in Kenosha for all of his seventy-six years. After he retired, Dan decided to obtain his undergrad degree. He enjoyed the experience so much that he went on to get… Continue reading

Myths about Downtown Kenosha

Unfortunately, I believed some myths about downtown Kenosha. Maybe, you have, too. Downtown is not dead. It is a vibrant, entrepreneurial business community. If you haven’t been there for awhile, then revisit your downtown. Catch lunch at Loula’s or the Buzz Café. Plan a night out enjoy dinner at Wine… Continue reading

The Supper Club Mystique

Wisconsin has something special to offer to the rest of the world, besides the Packers and cheese. It is the supper club capital of the world. While these dimly-lit destinations from decades gone by are an upper Midwest phenomenon, Wisconsin hosts by far the largest concentration. The Badger State is… Continue reading

Don’t Let Anyone Should on You (Column Version)

My column in the Kenosha News, last Monday: Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.— Howard Thurman What makes you feel alive? You may be able to answer quickly, or… Continue reading

Parting Shot

This post is part of the October 2015 Synchroblog that invites bloggers to imagine what they would say if they were writing their last blog post. Please scroll to the bottom of the page for links to other writers’ contributions. I am feeling both sentimental and hopeful as I leave… Continue reading

Pro (All of) Life

This post is part of the July 2015 synchroblog that invited bloggers to write about “What It Means To Be Pro-Life.” My fifty-seven year-old friend has been fighting for her life for over a month and half, after having emergency surgery to repair complications from a previous surgery. She is… Continue reading

Love Wins

This post is part of the July 2015 synchroblog that invited bloggers to write about “Gay Marriage.” Honestly, I have been able to avoid this topic. So, what you read here is me “writing out loud,” trying to “process” my way through it. Is it right or wrong? Many Christians,… Continue reading

The Age of Goodbyes

Here is a copy of my column from Monday’s Kenosha News. I never thought about Leonard Nimoy dying, even after he was recently admitted to the hospital suffering from COPD at eighty-three years of age. He was Mr. Spock for Pete sake! As Mr. Spock, he just got cooler as… Continue reading

The Death of Truth

Truth is dead. Apparently, we don’t need it anymore. Instead, we contort what little we know about an incident to support our preconceived viewpoint. Our minds are made up before we even become fully aware of the facts. We speak up with great indignation, believing we are calling attention to… Continue reading

Things I Don’t Ever Want to Forget

It’s hard to remember, and it’s not just due to my age, or getting so lost in a thought that I forgot which route I took to get home. Our culture is not given to remembering. It’s more about what’s trending on Twitter at very this moment. So, this month’s… Continue reading

The Man of God Myth

It is hard to find grace when it is desperately needed, like when a pastor or other spiritual leader is discovered to have been abusive toward those who looked up to him and depended upon him. How can you possibly pull together an appropriate balance of accountability and restoration in… Continue reading

Was Jesus Religious?

Here is my most recent column in The Kenosha News. Don’t talk about religion or politics. People tend to have strong opinions about these matters, and they really don’t want to re-examine what they believe. Their minds are made up. Today, I am ignoring that sage advice to write about… Continue reading

When Mental Illness Strikes Home

I talked to my Dad last Saturday on his eighty-eighth birthday, and he was surprising like his old self, chatty and congenial. What a relief. For so much of his recent years he has lived in a state of agitation. Contentment has been something he rarely experienced. Hence, much of… Continue reading

Can We Even Talk About Racial Issues?

As I thought about this month’s topic which is focused on race, violence, and the need to talk about it, four really big issues came to mind. Working on them has to be part of a way forward that moves us away from violence and obliviousness toward understanding and action.… Continue reading

It’s Not Your Fault

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This post is part of the “Crash” synchroblog: Robin Williams Performances We Remember and Why. Twenty year-old Will Hunting (Damon) is an undiscovered mathematical genius who grew up being regularly beaten by his father. He too developed anger management issues and he had a way of torpedoing any serious relationship.… Continue reading

Make Your Own Cheese

Here is my column from Monday’s Kenosha News. Being Wisconsin, I could have entitled this column “Make Your Own Beer,” but there is a fair chance you are already doing that. Or, I might have used the title “Make Your Own Sausage,” but nobody really wants to see sausage being made. So,… Continue reading

The Reluctant Time Lord

Warning: This post involves time travel, which may affect the space-time continuum, thereby, altering the very course of human history forever. Great Scott! My monthly synchroblog assignment  necessitated time travel to answer the question that holds the key to what I have been learning the last twenty years of my life.… Continue reading

Abusing Hell

God can be so troubling. I dig that Jesus loved those on the fringes of acceptability, but the part about sending unbelievers to Hell, offends my sensibilities. Using Hell Hell has been used as motivation to “get people saved.” Only, we can’t get anyone “saved.” That’s between the person and God,… Continue reading

The Lowest Common Denominator

Short Answer Ain’t gonna happen! That’s my initial response to this month’s synchroblog topic, healing divisions in the church. People like believing they are right. Then they can look down the other poor souls who don’t measure up, and feel very righteous about it. That sums up a big part… Continue reading

Am I Illinoising You?

A reprint of my column in the Kenosha (Wisconsin) News: I have a confession. Brace yourself. I live in Illinois. There, I said it. Please, don’t stop reading. Even though I’m from “south of the border,” it’s only by a block and a half. And that’s how I explain to… Continue reading

Where the Adventure Begins

Image by dgthekneelo. Creative Commons This post is part of the December synchroblog and part of  Christine Sine’s annual Advent synchroblog focused on the idea of “Coming Home” and how it relates to this season of advent leading up to Christmas. Links to the other writers’ contributions are listed at the end of… Continue reading

How I Became Irreligious

This post is part of a synchroblog in which the contributors tell their own faith story. The links to the stories of the other contributors are listed at the end of this post. How did you answer the Facebook profile question about your religious preference? I couldn’t think of any… Continue reading

The Oblivious and the Extremist

This post is part of the September  Synchroblog, entitled, “Loving Nature: Is God Green?” Links to the other contributors articles are listed at the end of this post. The Oblivious I have some interesting mental images of how certain unnamed family members, friends, and neighbors have violated my environmental sensibilities. It’s… Continue reading

Penelope and the Crutch

.Penelope loved life and lived it at full throttle. She admired her daddy, emulating his mischievous little grin and his love of ornery escapades. There was an effervescence about her that, at times, just had to bubble over like a well-shaken bottle of Coke. After 9th grade gym class, her… Continue reading