Category: Faith
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What This Grandfather Wants for Christmas
My adult children struggle to buy Christmas gifts for me. It’s not really as bad as it sounds. They have just run out of gift ideas for their dad. Usually, in early November, the pleading starts, “Dad, we need your list of what you want for Christmas!” I have a problem answering that question. As…
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The Tale of the Advent Log
Christmas is my favorite season of the year. The scents, the symbols, the decorations all tend to create a festive, if not reflective time when we have yet another opportunity to cherish family, our traditions, and the faith that makes life meaningful. Unfortunately, the commercialization and secularization of Christmas have distracted us from much of…
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Manhood and Chainsaws
Followers of TheBuddyBlog.com: Years ago, a friend of mine was quoted as saying, “Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me. I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way, and some of the roads were not paved.” There is a lot of truth in that statement. …
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The Ultimate Mulligan*
The term “mulligan” has become rather commonplace in our culture. In golfing parlance, it refers to a player being granted a do-over after a less than satisfactory shot. In popular culture, it simply means a person gets a second chance to get something right. I always understood that mulligans in golf were something granted by one…
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If Jesus Were a Bartender
Author’s Note: I wrote this Reflection in early 2017 and shared it with a small group of friends. This updated version is posted for the first time on TheBuddyBlog.com If you do a web search for the phrase “A guy walked into a bar….” you will discover that bars and bartenders are one of the…
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Well Done Faithful Servant
I lost a friend last week. Lost him to pancreatic cancer. He was more than a friend – more like the big brother I never had. And that doesn’t describe him justly. He was a mentor, a role model, the kind of man whose opinion you sought, whose counsel was valued, and whose approval was…
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Problem Solving Skills I Learned from Jigsaw Puzzles
I have never been a fan of jigsaw puzzles…until recently. Jigsaw puzzles always seemed like a waste of time. You spend hours putting together an insanely complicated piece of artwork, some with mind-numbing solid coloring, repetitive imagery, and similarly shaped pieces, only to break up the finished work and put it back in a box. …
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My Favorite Books on Marriage, aka The Books with the Yellow Highlights
Most of my readers know by now that I am a lover of books. My children have come to expect at least one literary Christmas gift every year and to not be surprised if, on occasion, an unexpected tome arrives on their doorstep from Amazon. Such are the consequences of having a father who is…
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How A Miracle Saved the American Revolution…and My Family Name
This last week of August 2019, is the two hundred and forty-third anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in American history. At the time, soldiers on both sides of the conflict called the events of the week a miracle. Historians ever since have also considered its outcome providential, or at the very least,…
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The Tale of Three Wedding Rings
The wedding ring has long symbolized endless, eternal love. A circle, with no beginning or end, is said to symbolize infinity. A gold wedding band first adorned the fourth finger of my left hand on September 2, 1972. I planned to wear it forever. Now, three wedding rings later, I have a story to share…
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