Category Archives: Fathers and Sons

“Can Jesus Carry Me?”

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Mark

While hiking on trails along the bluffs of the ocean, our grandson, Ari, lifted his arms and asked, “Will you carry me, Pa?” He is six and about sixty pounds and my knees are bad, so I said, “Sorry, you … Continue reading →

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Climb, Climb, Up Sunshine Mountain

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Mark

The blessings of God are fresh every morning, but these days so is the grief. Teckla and I are sorting out stuff and hauling things to the dump, so every day we come across things that belonged to Peter: clothes, … Continue reading →

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Can We Dig Him Up?

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Mark

Ari asked this as we stood at the edge of his Daddy’s grave. Peter’s gravestone had not yet been placed, but I knew he had been buried right next to my brother, Stanley. This was the second time Ari had … Continue reading →

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Failing Peter

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Mark

In my last post I said Teckla and I had failed Peter in many ways. A couple of people kindly insisted we hadn’t, so I think I should clarify. Some may think this sense of failure is the guilt parents … Continue reading →

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Deep Waters

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Mark

The older I get, the more I love (and perhaps need) this story about fishing (Luke 5:3—8). Peter, James, and John had been fishing all night with no luck. They had taken their nets out of the boats and spread … Continue reading →

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The Nazarene Thing and Melted Butter

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Mark

I didn’t know my grandfather well. As the youngest of my three brothers, I got to know grandpa mostly while a college student at NNC. He and Grandma Jewel live on Ivy street—a short walk from the campus. Even so, … Continue reading →

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The Third Prodigal

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Mark

Most of us know the first prodigal in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15). We know this so guy well because he all of us, all of humankind, every son and daughter that has fled God and wallowed in sin. Adam and … Continue reading →

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Uncalculating Love

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Mark

Times have been hard, finances tight, stress high, and our energy low—so we got a dog. Not just a dog—Pharoah, a large male Doberman that our son Claude and his wife, Katie, shipped us from Illinois. Claude and Katie had … Continue reading →

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How Grandchildren Save the World and Our Souls

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Mark

I am convinced that grandchildren save the world. No matter how cynical, skeptical, and jaded we senior citizens become, our hearts still melt when a grandchild slips their hand in ours, places a kiss on our cheek, or squeaks out, … Continue reading →

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Praying for Wes

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Mark

Recently my friend Wes Adams died. In some ways, of all the ways death has made itself known recently, his death has moved me the most. Teckla and I got to know Wes when I took a teaching position at … Continue reading →

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