Village Voices - We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks

Who says God is dead? A few years ago, I’d say about 30 to be exact, there was a little white church out in the middle of nowhere in the country that was in trouble. Their pastor had just stepped...

There is no mystery in day to day life quite as exhilarating as the ordinary mailbox. Every day the possibility of something new arrives when the mailman stops at the end of the driveway and drops...

When I was a kid on the farm, hitch pins were always in short supply. We didn’t travel on the road at all with our farm equipment back then, so we hadn’t heard of safety clips, much less any need...

School is back in session for the most part. Which makes me think of my own school days in the public school. I was smart enough to skip a grade right off the bat - kindergarten. At six years old I...

As I sit at my keyboard pounding out the words going into this column, we are in the middle of a heat wave. It’s hot outside. But here in my basement office, it’s cool. Almost too cool. But as you...

Today was the absolute worst day ever And don't try to convince me that There's something good in every day Because when you take a closer look, The world is a pretty evil place, Even if Some...

We have a kill-deer that built a nest right on the edge of our driveway, about a foot in from where the gravel meets the grass. Everytime I mowed the yard, the mama would squawk and squawk and try to...

It seems time goes a little faster now than it used to. Back in my youth it seemed like once summer was upon us, it had no end. We would work and play for sunny days on end. I don’t ever remember...

A guy spots a sign outside a house that reads, “Talking Dog for Sale.” Intrigued, he walks in. “So, what have you done with your life?” he asks the dog. “I’ve led a very full life,...

We had some people visit our church a few months ago who live about 40 miles away. After the service we were chatting in the parking lot and the husband told me they’d love to come to Martintown,...

Not long ago a couple of friends and myself met for breakfast to discuss some business at hand. We ordered our food and chatted amicably while we waited for our food to. When the food arrived, as is...

A few weeks ago, after dinner one summer Sunday night, my wife and I decided to take advantage of the lingering daylight and go for a little drive. Our little drive ended up being more than little...

When I was still in high school I had a brother who was going to college with plans of being a pastor someday. On a trip home from Chicago one weekend, a salesman was on the farm and asked him what...

We just finished Bible school week at MCC. The place was overflowing with excitement and action. We had over 90 excited students and 55 enthusiastic adults there most everyday. Our cup runneth over....

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live...

It’s June. This is what we’ve been waiting for - long, warm days and pleasant summer nights. In my humble opinion - this is the best month of the year. All the promise of life comes in June....

Spring is starting to wind down and summer is knocking on the door. For some reason, this has been one of the most beautiful Springs in my recent memory. When everything turned green a few weeks ago,...

Ten years before I became pastor of Martintown Community Church, I spoke from the pulpit there as a guest. It was August 28, 1983. I chose to speak from Genesis, chapter five on the person of Enoch. M...

Graduation season is upon us. Time to spread your wings and fly. The world is waiting. There is great anticipation in the air as the new graduates put their hands to the plow and don’t look back....

We live in a world of instant everything. Russian immigrant and comedian Yakov Smirnoff said the first time he went grocery shopping in America he saw powdered milk, powdered eggs, powdered potatoes...

Some random thoughts … A few years ago we replaced the roof on our house. It was a DIY project. It’s a two story house, and not being in the roofing business, it was a big job for a novice. I’ve...

I subscribe to a magazine called The Progressive Farmer. On the last page of each edition the editor prints a bunch of quotes from people, mostly of whom I’ve never heard of, but some of them are fa...

About three weeks ago we had 15 inches of snow. As I type these words, we've now had a week of 80 degree weather. Looking ahead to what is now this week, it looks like the temps are going to drop abou...

I recently watched the Jesus Revolution movie in the theater. It’s a good movie about the Jesus movement and is set in the late 60’s at the height of the Hippy era. It’s a story about a young ma...

As a child, my parents rarely missed taking me and my siblings to church on Sunday morning. By rarely, I mean, I don’t recall ever missing a single Sunday. We always dressed up in our Sunday best...