How A Hairbrush Saved My Sanity

  Time For Something New Or maybe it was the broken combs. One way or the other, though, my hair–my somewhat-wild-and-wooly-head-of-hair–has  illuminated a platitude for me. Here’s the saying: One definition of  insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting different results.  We’ve all heard it a million times, right? Sure we have. But […]


The Love Expedition

True Confessions (And a Puzzle. Can You Solve It?) I’ve been whining. [Wait. Everyone seems to think my disappointment is justified. I’m unconvinced. Anyway, that’s the tension I’ve been sorting out lately.] See, I’ve been sick a lot the last two years. One thing after another, I thought. I was wrong. Every affliction has been a […]


Comfort, Baked: How a Casserole Becomes Famous

It Started at Shipmates When I was a small child, my family worshiped at First Congregational UCC in San Bernardino. Our parents belonged to Shipmates, a couples’ fellowship. Many of my most enduring memories of that congregation stem from Shipmates-instigated activities. Notable among these events were Pal Week (a secret-friend type weeklong adventure that must remain […]


For Those Sundays You Don’t Want to Go

  My Church.  Maybe you’ve had one too? You know, that Sunday.  That Sunday when even though you love your church family and you love your pastor and you love the pretty music and the smooth wood of the offering plates and still, somehow, You don’t want to go. At least, I hope you’ve had them too. […]


What If I Don’t Want to Lead This Parade? (And an Announcement)

  Sawyer Sharing Brudder’s Chair. Hawaii. May, 2012. I’d Like to Tag Along Anyone with younger siblings know that little kids are natural pests. The summer I was five I followed my long-suffering cousin Larry everywhere. I would have followed him right into the bathroom if he had let me.  (That same summer I wrecked […]