“I’m just exhausted!” she said. Between caring for her family, doing her best at work, volunteering in several organizations, she was simply exhausted. “I know I should be getting more exercise and should eat better, but when you are tired and exhausted, it just seems easier to grab something on the way home. I don’t…

The Rev. John Beaty was pastor of a small United Methodist Church of which we were members. One day in a small Bible study group he said to me, “Today you are in the transportation business, but some day I see you in the transformation business.” His was one of the voices that would play…

Over the past year, a number of clergy colleagues had recommended a book, “Canoeing the Mountains.” My stack of “recommended books” was high enough, so I was sure I didn’t need to add another book to the pile. Then our United Methodist Bishop Julius Trimble mentioned it at Annual Conference in June. There it was…

On early mornings, I love to sit in the parsonage living room for my devotional time.  Now that school has started, one can see the yellow school buses whizzing by and picking up students in the neighborhood. I remember being excited to return to school — laying out a new dress, new school shoes, and…

It’s strawberry season already! A church member showed up Sunday with a special treat—homegrown strawberries. He had picked and picked and then was kind enough to share from his rich harvest. As I washed the ones he shared with me, I marveled at just how beautiful these berries were. Not your grocery store variety that…

It’s hot outside! Memorial Day was a record-breaking day of heat in Fort Wayne, Indiana! We attributed the high-90 degree weather as the reason we couldn’t seem to get the parsonage very cool. Later that evening, my husband discovered the compressor outside was making a strange sound and the a/c fan was not turning. What…

It is a decisive time in the history of The United Methodist Church. The church has been at odds for years over the issue of sexual orientation, the definition of “marriage” and how all of that applies to the ordination and appointment of clergy in our churches. There are faithful men and women on both…

In the Bible, we find four gospels (“good news”)… Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It has been said that the Holy Land, the place where Jesus’ ministry actually happened, is a “fifth gospel.” Taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, visiting the Mount of the Beatitudes, and walking in the Garden of Gethsemane…

One of the highlights in my life was having my family and friends present when I graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2001.  It meant the world to have their support and encouragement during that 4-year time of learning.  After graduation, I was “commissioned” as a “provisional elder” and appointed full-time to serve as…

A recent article in the New York Times shared that “a judge in Virginia handed down an unusual sentence after five teenagers defaced a historic black school house with swastikas and the words ‘white power’ and ‘black power.’ Instead of spending time in community service, Judge Avelina Jacob decided the youth should read a book. But…