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Wishing For the Easy LIfe!

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I think you would agree, we would all prefer to live an easy life. That is, we’d prefer a life free of sickness and pain, sadness and grief, toil and testing. Sometimes we even say out loud, “Why does life have to be so hard?” Unfortunately, however, like it or not, life is hard. For sure it is filled with lots of joys, but even when things are going well, the difficulties of life have a way of sneaking onto the scene.  For me, as many of you know, some of that difficulty came sneaking (or I might say, barreling) into my life this past year in the form of such terrible arthritis in my spine that eventually I needed a second spinal fusion. Just as I was retiring from pastoring and beginning a new season, working at a gym as a personal trainer, the pain increased, my mobility lessened, and the need for surgery became more and more evident. Within five months of retiring, I found myself in the hospital for a few days and then recovering at home, dealing with the surgical pain and the ...
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Do Words Matter?

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Have you ever spoken out of turn, wishing you could take back your words? It may have been in the heat of an argument when you said something you know you ought not have said. It may  have been in that moment of pain or frustration when a string of words came out of your mouth that were not appropriate by any account. It may have been those words of gossip or criticism or that quick response after which you wish you had “bitten you tongue.”  I think you would agree, we live in a culture in which most people are very loose with their words. From the gym locker room to the corporate office, into our city streets, churches, and even in the White House and political arenas, words are thrown around and things said that once would have been considered brash, foul, and just outright mean. Many people speak using their words as if their words do not really matter.  As a child growing up in Sunday School, I remember singing a song with lyrics that stuck with me. Those lyrics inclu...
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The Bald Eagle of Eatontown!

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When I was growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, bald eagles were considered an endangered species. At the time, there were so few of them that they could have easily and quickly become extinct. Think of it: our national bird going extinct! Thus, a lot of safeguards were put into place to keep that from happening.  During those years, to see a bald eagle one would have had to travel to the Rocky Mountains or at least somewhere very remote. Today things have greatly changed when it comes to the bald eagle. Whereas in 1963 there were only about 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states, today’s population is well over 300,000 birds. And many of those birds are right here in New Jersey!  A couple of years ago, while riding my bike at Sandy Hook (Gateway National Park) here in Monmouth County, I spotted a bald eagle perched in a tree. It was the first time I had ever seen one. Then last summer,  there was an eagle that would fly over us at the beach in Long Branch and then perch ...
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A Cloudy, Cool, and Rainy Memorial Day!

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Today is Memorial Day 2026. It’s normally a day for parades, BBQ’s, and lots of other outdoor activities. Unfortunately, however, for us here in New Jersey, as well as along much of the Northeast, it’s a cloudy, cool, and rainy day. Of course we will try to make the best of it. But it’s not the Memorial Day we picture in our minds as we look forward to this weekend that has become known as “the unofficial start to summer.”  Normally on this day I put the flag out first thing (which I have done). Kim and I might go for a morning bike ride. Later on, we would light up the grill, often with some friends. Today, however, is going to be a bit different. Not too much is going to happen in the way of outdoor activities.  Yet, in spite of the weather not cooperating with our plans, it is still Memorial Day. That is, it is a yet the day in which we are meant to pause and remember those soldiers who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. It is a day to give thanks for t...
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Hey Google!

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It’s not uncommon for Kim and I to be having a conversation when a question arises to which neither of us has the answer. It could range from the stats of a favorite tennis player to the amount of protein in the food we are eating to what the weather will be over the weekend or something more scientific. At that point, one of us will turn and say, “Hey Google! What’s…?” Within seconds we have an answer.  I think you would agree, we live in a world that puts knowledge and information at our fingertips. Just a quick internet search gives us the answers to most of our questions—some  accurate and some not, but that’s beside the point.  We are told that before 1900 knowledge doubled approximately every century. By 1982 knowledge was doubling every 13 months. Some estimate that today, knowledge—what we know and understand about our world  and how it works—can double at a rate of up to every 12 hours! No wonder we can begin to feel what has been called, “information overlo...
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Two Cards In One!

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Here’s a devotion I wrote in 2008. It fits for this year once again, as it does every so often: (Pic below is mom, dad, and I.)  This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  It is also my father’s birthday. With my father’s birthday being May 10th, the two fall on the same day every few years.  Such was the case during my senior year of college.  At the time, I was living in the Bronx.  Just before going home for the weekend, I stopped into a little card shop to pick up two cards, one for my mother and one for my father.  What I found, however, was a great surprise:  one card that said, “Happy Mother’s Day Mom & Happy Birthday Dad!”  I couldn’t believe it!   Of course I bought the card.  And, when I gave it to my parents, they and the rest of the family were just as surprised as I was.  It  was amazing to think that someone in the card industry had been smart enough to realize there was at least one family out there (and more, I’m su...
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The Monster Truck Show!

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Last weekend was my grandson Jack’s fourth birthday. His birthday wish? To go to a monster truck show. So that is what we did—Jack’s dad, two sets of grandparents, and older brother Jesse. And Jack had the time of his life!    If you know me at all, you know that attending a monster truck show would not be high on my list. In fact, it would most probably never enter my mind. Yes, it was fun…to a degree. The trucks made a lot of noise, did amazing wheelies and donuts and jumps, and kicked up a lot of dust.  But what was most fun was seeing how excited Jack and his brother Jesse were. After all, I was there not for myself and what I liked or didn’t like. I was there for them. And knowing that they were having a great time was worth it all!  Unfortunately, too often we make our lives strictly about ourselves, making ourselves the center of our worlds.  Thus, if something doesn’t suit us or bring us some direct benefit, we turn our backs on it—even if it will be a b...
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