AZALEA BLOOMS ALREADY The azaleas are already blooming. Mid-January and the flowers are out. We’ll likely have a few more cold days into February. Maybe even a freeze. It does happen here in central Florida. This weekend was quite chilly with temperatures into the mid-30s. Nothing like friends further north, though.
OFF TO CHURCH IN ABOUT AN HOUR I remember sitting in the balcony with my mom at the old First Presbyterian Church downtown, where the Bank of America is now. That was the 1950s. I remember hanging out with some other teenagers in the kitchen, pitching pennies, skipping worship. That was in the 1960s. I
ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS There was something I told them I would do. They asked when. “In the next hour,” I told them. “How will we know,” they asked. “I will text you when I have done it,” I replied. When I hadn’t texted them, Brian texted me. I gave an excuse. Brian texted “What’s the matter
IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING We are in January, some of the coldest days of the year, Mid-Winter. Warmer weather, the first days of Spring are still weeks away, almost unimaginable. I realize I am writing from Florida, where cold is anything under 50 degrees. I know many are facing sub-freezing temperatures and heavy snows right
ROTARY TODAY Take a look at the 14 people in the picture. I am the oldest by a long shot. Half are women. Not much ethnic diversity yet. There was so much energy in this room all day Saturday. We engaged with each other on a number of topics. We learned from each other. We
THE POWERFUL ENGINE COULDN’T DO IT The car was stuck. The soft, dry sand at the beach wouldn’t allow the tires to get traction, so the wheels kept spinning, adding to the stuckness. A very powerful engine drove those wheels. It could normally propel this multi-ton vehicle down the road at 70 miles an hour
STILL GOING I walked into the gym and was pleased to see so many still going. It is the 15th already. The theory is most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions within the first two weeks. But not these folks. They are still showing up, still working at it. Almost every treadmill has
THANK YOU DR. KING I grew up in the segregated South. My elementary school and junior high school were not integrated. There seemed to be two parts to our town. I remember “colored” bathrooms at the gas stations. In the 1960s, my world began to open up to bigger realities, beyond playing sandlot ball in
THE BIBLE IS FULL OF TROUBLEMAKERS Jacob was a real rascal. He takes advantage of his hungry brother. He lies to his father. Laban, his uncle, is no better. He tricks Jacob into trading seven years of work to gain the hand of Rachel to be his wife, and then trades her for her sister,
MASTERMINDING The term may be unfamiliar. Think about a small group of people getting together to help each other. Not to just talk about the latest football game or to fritter away the time. Intentionally focused on helping each other in some way. It could be about a common interest list gardening. It could be