Living Real

Easter. I can remember what Easter meant as a child. A new dress, purse and shoes. Often a hat. Definitely a basket filled with goodies, wrapped up in cellophane tied with a pretty bow. And the pictures. Can’t forget the pictures. Had to capture the moment of the Easter finery. And usually the house. And [...]

I sent most of this out as an email to our church people, but I feel like I should share it here as well. Wednesday nights are special around our church. We share a meal together then we have a short Bible study or worship time. This Wednesday night falls right in the middle of [...]

Sometimes God sets things up that you just sit back and wonder, “Why me? Wow! That was so cool!” Some of those events are highly charged, like my meeting with John-John, Josh and Angie. Others are just plain fun and fulfilling, like meeting Shellie Tomlinson and River Jordan on their “Southern Wing and a Prayer [...]

Reading in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 we read a story that Jesus told, likening the Kingdom of Heaven to a field planted with good seed. The farmer planted good seeds, wheat. Then, that night, the farmer’s enemy came and planted weeds in the field with the wheat. The farmer’s loyal workers are all up in arms [...]

Americans are such racists. By and large, all of us are.  Whether you’re black, white, red, yellow or whatever. We argue amongst ourselves about racial equality — primarily between black and white. It’s amazing, however, to see how those racial lines seem to disappear into a form of unity when our American race is challenged. [...]

I’ve held my tongue, but no longer. I simply have to brag about my daughter-in-law. A couple years ago, she was in training to take over one of the local Sonic stores as an owner. (As if that’s not enough to be proud of!) While at one of the stores in Knoxville late one night, [...]

I must make a confession. There’s a television show on A & E Television about people who hang on to items that they really can’t use, until it essentially chokes the life from their life. I am a hoarder. For years I’ve hoarded chips & dip, candy bars, too much steak & shrimp, and bread, [...]

The trip away was great. Had I not gone, I would have missed out. Today, I’ll share the briefest (yeah, right) of summaries, then through the week, I’ll unpack these with more detail. Wednesday, we took the long (really long) way from Townsend to Anderson. We stopped at Sticky Fingers in Chattanooga for lunch, then [...]

This week has started off to be just like any other week. Work on website, work on newsletter, work on bulletins, work on writing — general busy-ness. Add in the waiting on Tuesday for a bed to be delivered and set up, and don’t forget packing for the trip we leave on Wednesday and stay [...]

I met a man unlike any I’ve met before. I’ve known those who feel hopeless and afraid. I’ve met those who though they spoke with little hope, their eyes showed they were filled with it. Last night, I met James. He was different. He was given up for adoption at age 5 by his parents. [...]

Reading through Hosea I found this in chapter 2, verse 16: “When that day comes,” says the Lord, ”you will call me `my husband’ instead of `my master.’” Okay. What’s that mean? Think about those words and what they mean to you. For me: Master ~ “I will serve you and follow you because I have to. [...]

I got a text today from my pastor today telling me I was wearing my God-goggles. What a compliment! Sometime earlier this year, Darren came up with this term — yes, it was taken from the term used in a song by Neal McCoy about beer goggles. This term, though, has nothing to do with [...]