Beyond Bringing Up Boys

Much to Zachary's chagrin, his 21st birthday turned into "birthday month."   Zach prefers simplicity. Maybe a gift but no full-on attention.    In fact, since he chooses not to be on social media, last year his dad and I posted his number and invited our friends to wish him a happy birthday. It turns out that he was in court that day, with the law firm he works for, and a buzzing phone in the courtroom causes a disturbance--who knew. ;)  But this year, because of the snow that turned to ice on the 17th, he was unable to get McKenzi so he wanted to have a cake that included her last Sunday. My niece also has a January birthday and so we planned a full family dinner with another cake on Friday night. So, his 21st birthday was celebrated three times!  Our house was full of laughter and fun!  Happy birthday, dear ones. May each year be better than the one before!

Snow flurries danced in the headlights twenty-one years ago this morning as we drove to the small, regional hospital in Indiana, Pennsylvania. At 9:45, I watched Dr. Stever lift you up high and into my view over the partition in the operating bay. Nurses handed you to me within a couple of minutes. Pastor Rick, standing beside me, asked if Mom and I had chosen a name for you. Zachary: “Remembered by God.” As you celebrate this milestone birthday, my mind replays a thousand memories in an instant, recollections of mountains here and valleys there. This constant remains: God has remembered. His mercy towers above all surrounding landscapes. The next 21 years will pass even more quickly for you. You will become middle-aged; I, old. Money will come and go, as will many relationships and fads. Conventional wisdom will change with the wind. Amid fomenting change, this principle must be your north star: God always keeps his promises. Happy birthday to my son, who has been b...

The warmth from the August sun absorbed by the concrete blocks of the parking garage of the Allegheny General Hospital was not enough to ward off the chill that David and I felt as we clung together. Clinging like shipwrecked survivors to a dinghy --quite sure we were NOT ready to face the storm of the diagnosis just given to us by the doctor.  An ultrasound is usually a happy event, that first peek at the life not yet seen. But not that day. The grim face of the physician spoke volumes, even in his silence. They suggested that we terminate and quickly as "he" was already 23 weeks.  We walked away knowing that God, in His sovereignty, could redeem even this, but in my flesh, I was terrified. We had no further ultrasounds.  The months passed agonizingly slow, yet somehow they flew by. David named him Zachary because the name meant, "remembered by God."  We were extremely protective of this potential diagnosis and with the exception of a few close friends ...

Today required something of me that I didn't want to do. Not a bit. I knew I needed to, but everytime I thought about it, I got a little nauseous. But, I did it. Or, at least I started the process.  It's not the first time, I had to pray my way through something.   Roughly 18 months after an accident that required a lengthy recovery,  I finally climbed on a bike again to ride 17 miles of the Virginia Creeper Trail with my supportive family.  I am intentionally grateful for courage. Today, 18 months ago  and everyday in between.  Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."

  Yes, these ladies know that a balding, middle aged, hemorrhaging man is looking over their shoulders.   Last month I extended extra credit to students who were willing to invest in a  Macbeth  performance at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern.  T o claim their extra credit, students had to take a selfie with a cast member following the performance. I am not sure of the identity of the head - banded hero, but the gentleman on the left is the  valiant Macduff. Having taught this play over twenty times, I find that the story of Macbeth has become an old friend. I know where the students will laugh (with the drunk porter), where they will be aghast (when Lady Macbeth evokes the image of bashing the skull of a nursing infant),  and  where they will see themselves (when Macbeth describes being trapped by his choices: “ I am in blood /  Stepp'd  in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er ”). Macbeth  is my ...

"The greatest masterpieces were once only colors on a palette." Henry Haskins  When you see creation in all of its magnificence, you cannot deny the Creator, you can only suppress this truth (Rom 1:18).  Intentionally grateful today for a colorful world!