Have I mentioned lately that Tom Karges is a home repair genius? Tom is a church member who has been leading the repairs here at the parsonage, which have been ongoing for the past few months. You can see his new website here, where he showcases his own art and his work in home remodeling […]

It’s only minutes into today, and I am already certain of my daily gratitude. I can’t imagine this one will get eclipsed by anything else that can happen today. This is our last night at the lake. Sometime tomorrow (er, later today) we’ll head back to town. Because it is our last night, I realized […]

OK, I’m gonna declare that this is different from my “daily grat” of the other day. My favorite time of day is thirty minutes before, and an hour after, sunset. Last night, I sat out on the dock and took pictures with my Treo. Then, I put them together in a time lapse movie, with […]

As both a preacher and a songwriter, I’m embarrassed to admit I never heard Woody Guthrie’s great song “Jesus Christ,” until I watched the credits of Michael Moore’s latest movie last night. Well, better late than never, I suppose. What struck me about it was how completely and totally consistent it is with much of […]

Maybe it’s that I’m getting great sleep. Maybe it’s that I’m getting *enough* sleep. Maybe it’s the Temperpedic bed here at the lake. Whatever’s happening, I’ve been having some really amazing dreams the past few days. I won’t go into all of them here. But sufficed to say, I like dreaming. And I like having […]

Tom says work at the house went well today. Good reports from our house sitter when she returned this evening too. Meanwhile, here at the lake, things are good too. We went into Tyler, mainly to see the zoo, today. Big fun with that. Then, for dinner, we found Tyler’s branch of the muy delicioso […]

Lot’s I could count as today’s “daily grat.” But I think I settle for this: This was the scene on the porch just a while ago here, and it needs no further explanation, except “Thank You.” (During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to […]

I feel hopelessly behind in “Daily Grats.” I’ve got a lot written, but not a lot actually put out here. I’ll try to catch up as possible. Mom and Dad were here at the lakehouse yesterday, because Dad had to be at a board meeting yesterday; so last night, we all went over the Moore’s […]

It’s Spring Break week, and even with all the crap having to do with our break-in, we’re going ahead with our plans to be gone. We’re headed to the lakehouse, and taking Maria’s friend Caroline with us She also happens to be the daughter of friends I’ve known since we were about their age. It’s […]