In the movie Chariots of Fire, British athlete Eric Liddell was torn between his dream of participating in the 1924 Olympic Games and his religious convictions when he learned that his first heat of the 100-meter dash was scheduled on a Sunday. He met with the Prince of Wales and the committee to share his
I am back on the coast of Maine after a year off last year because of the pandemic. Although there are a few rather dreadful changes (construction of a tall, view-blocking hotel in the heart of Rockport village), the natural beauty of sea, sky, lush green lawns, and wildflowers remains untouched.
Communion means the world to me. Getting to be a part of it as presider, assistant, or person in the pew is a practice, the absence of which would break my heart and erode my soul. That is true despite the fact that neither my devotion to it nor my deep need of it makes
This week my brother flies in to help our dad move to Silver Spring, Maryland. And among the things we’ll need to attend to is his beloved 1953 Pontiac. The car is the same model as the one Dad was driving when he met our mother in Dallas. He was in seminary, and
My mother told me about the greatest compliment she ever received. A music director once said to her,
‘Marilyn, you are the best accompanist I have ever heard. You know, the tendency of most concert-quality pianists and organists like yourself is to outshine and often overpower singers and other musicians. You don’t do that. You know
As I write this short note, I am preparing to return to Jackson from New York City to preach at the funeral of a good friend, who died last night. My thoughts are too full of him this morning to write about anything or anyone else. I beg your indulgence as I write a few
This week, I met a young woman who is a very talented singer, actress, and music teacher. She has done phenomenal work in the music and arts communities of Chicago and New Orleans, and even appeared in the movie “Pitch Perfect.” She decided to move back to her hometown of Memphis last year in hopes
Since we have just celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, I’m thinking about spirit-filled people, particularly my beloved friend Margaret Wright Jones, known simply as ‘Be’.
In Knoxville, Tennessee, where we both lived, Be was a brilliant, eccentric, creative woman, the life of every party she attended – and she attended many. But
In a few weeks, our daughter Kate will graduate from college, and she’ll have some decisions to make. When I was her age my biggest decisions were about not entering the workforce in any way that actually required the expensive college degree I’d recently acquired. Decisions that also left time for a few
I have learned that it is important that I not only honor my mom on Mother’s Day but also honor my mother-in-law. Ruthie’s mom Darlene grew up in Weippe, Idaho, a small town where the Nez Perce Indians saved the starving Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805. Darlene is part Cherokee, proud of her Indian