Browsing Category

Family

D'Oliva Olive Oil, Family, Random Thoughts,

Olive Grove Tuesday

Jesus spent a lot of time in an olive orchard this week. What is often called “the Olivet Discourse” was probably a Tuesday evening discussion with His disciples, sitting together in the grove as they viewed the Temple and busy city of Jerusalem across the valley.

That particular olive grove has a spectacular setting and has one of the most photographed views in Israel. I was first there in 1975, staying in a hotel atop the Mount of Olives. A few years ago I returned again with my church. Though bustling with tourists and over developed to handle the crowds, …

Book Reviews, Family,

The Genealogy of my Barbarian Conversion

A few years ago I was reading a book about the spread of Christianity across Europe, and a reference was made to the book The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity by Richard Fletcher. I ordered it and was stunned by the magnitude of the book: over 500 pages of detailed history about how Christianity took hold in Europe. The book has sat on my nightstand a long time because it was so intimidating and I didn’t know if I wanted to plunge into it!

Then I had a thought: maybe this book could shed light on when my own …

Family, Random Thoughts,

High School Friends and The Untold Story

“How fast do you think it will go?”

It’s impossible to know how many teenage boys have asked that question. Sometimes it is heard as a challenge, perhaps even a taunt. But when I said it to my friend Randy back in the mid-70’s, it was a genuinely honest question. I really wanted to know how fast his car would go.

The question started an adventure that I was sworn to keep secret. Randy was afraid his parents would explode if they found out what we did. I was sure my parents would. And since our friends would talk about …

Family,

Two Story Films

My son has mad skills. Check out this reel displaying his talents:

If you subscribe to this blog via email or RSS, you can watch the video here: Two Story Films.

…

Family,

Home Blessing

I found this photo of our new home and thought it was a good posting for today. It’s not a great photo but it certainly gives you a feel of the setting. We stayed our first night there last night and woke to wonderful views of the vineyard. D’Aun and I are really looking forward to this new adventure! It seems appropriate to share an old Celtic blessing for the occasion:

Bless this house, o Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof …

Family, Random Thoughts,

Lent and Prayer

Lent began about two weeks ago. It’s a hectic time in our lives as we (hopefully) finalize the sale of our home, pack everything up, and get settled in our new place. All of the usual stress — plus a bit more — has made if difficult to focus on the meaning of this season.

But one simple thing has helped. The good folks at 24-7 Prayer have created daily videos for the season of Lent. Each one is about 4-minutes long and focuses on the theme of “Jesus, walk with us.” It’s a comforting message for me right now, …

Family, Goble Properties, Junkyard Management,

Out With the Old

There are a lot of ways to learn that we grow when old things are tossed aside and new things are let in. I was reminded of that recently and thought I’d share this story.

One of the hardest days of work I ever had was when, as a teenager, I cleaned out an industrial building at 2490 Lafayette Street in San Jose. It was a classic metal building that had been a manufacturing plant. With about half an acre under the roof, it was filled with grease, oil, dirt, and a fine dust that today would probably be considered …

Book Reviews, Family,

Shhh…Quiet…Introverts Writing

It was a couples small group study when I first found my voice about being an introvert. Of the twelve or so people in the study, nine or ten were extroverts. Not surprising given that you need to be a bit of an extrovert to join a weekly small group.

We were going through a study on marriage and the author (an extrovert) had written about conflicts with his introverted wife. It led to an interesting conversation in our group, but one spouse in particular was upset at her husband because he was an introvert. “Just get over it” seemed …