Retired & Thinking

I n the back of our lot was an old tree. It held the remnants of past platforms among the branches. I discovered it was a plum tree only after building a treehouse in it. To build this playhouse a lot of dead wood had to be cleared out of the tree.   Most of the dead wood was twigs and small branches and the task was more tedious than difficult. The dead wood impacted the tree by keeping it from doing what it was meant to do, namely bear plums.   Building this treehouse forced me to remove dead wood but we undergo experiences that cause us to take stock of our lives. And these events may well offer us the chance to ax the excess—rid our lives of the dead wood. I know some of you have had a doctor mention 'cancer' and you were forced to make changes and even move your life in new directions.   Your company goes belly-up, there are layoffs, a child, friend or other person makes horrible choices. Perhaps the issue is a pandemic that threatens our health, jobs, social lif

In the early 1940s, a Baptist church in a Chicago suburb had a new pastor by the name of Billy Graham. He believed he was meant to be an evangelist but decided to give the pastorate a fair try. Within several months, the church was growing, and so was his popularity. A popular Christian radio broadcast heard in several states called “Songs in the Night” approached the rookie pastor about becoming their weekly speaker. Sensing the hand of God in this invitation, he agreed. The program increased its listeners and being a secular station, Billy knew there were unbelievers listening. He engaged the wide spectrum of listeners by making sure that they referenced the culture. Let me quote from his autobiography, Just as I Am: “I built my radio talks around the events of the day. Keeping up with current events through newspapers and radio news programs, I began each message with a reference to something people would have been hearing and talking about that very day. Then I moved into a b