There was a time in my life when I was no friend of a bee. Today, due to the generosity of a thoughtful church member, I am a keeper of bees. Each morning I walk out to the hive to wish them a good day and every evening I lean in close to the entrance of their home...

This is the time of year in which I am endlessly entertained with bluebirds nesting and now hatching out another generation of young. Papa birds are easy to identify with their brilliant colors. It was Henry David Thoreau that said a bluebird looks as though he...

A few evenings ago I was cutting grass along the shoulder of the road while my neighbor was cutting down and sectioning a dead tree in his front yard. As I was trudging behind my push mower, my neighbor was hauling away the logs of the hollowed out pine. Out of the...

The events of Good Friday are well known and often told by believers and followers throughout the world. Each Gospel offers only one word to describe what happened: crucified. Though we want all the gory details – we live in a culture of violence after all – not much...

Do you compost? It is the best kind of recycling one can do. Compost consists of most any biodegradable material such as raw vegetables, coffee grounds, leaves, grass, and fruit. I keep a compost pile in the woods out behind my yard. Once it has thoroughly rotted – I...

...That was the subject line of an email I recently received - "Muffin Top Drop." I am not sure if it was a promotion for weight-loss or advertising a delicious pastry. I decided to forgo opening the email, assuming it was unsolicited. Besides, I like muffin tops and...

A week or so ago many were amused, some outraged, and others mystified at the audacity of a pastor’s efforts to raise $65 million for a private jet. Apparently this pastor just skipped over the part in the Bible where Jesus instructed his disciples to, “Take no gold,...

Have you ever heard of a “Selfie-Stick?” This past Christmas I was surprised with the gift of one, and a favorite one at that! First, for the uninformed, let me explain the term “selfie.” A selfie is a rather new word that refers to taking a self-portrait, usually...

In baptism and through water we are marked by God as one of God’s own. Baptism is the symbol of being born again. On this day Christians around the world are marked with ashes.   To be marked with ashes with the sign of the cross is really the only time...

To The Field of Stars: A Pilgrim’s Journey to Santiago De Compostela, by Kevin A. Codd   Told from the perspective of a Catholic Priest, this book recounts a thirty-five day pilgrimage across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the...