Overcoming Fear
I was asked to be the singing leader for the children in our small country congregation. It was an assignment that scared me to death. I hadn’t had great experiences with public music performances, so...
View ArticleEyre Monday Poem: Don’t Judge (The Lesson of the Moose and the Pelican)
Editor’s note: Most Meridian readers are familiar with Richard Eyre’s books and articles, but he is less well-known as a poet. We have asked him to share a poem each Monday morning for the remainder of...
View ArticleChildren and Musical Instruments
As I became more comfortable teaching music in my assignment with the children at our church, I decided that since they had learned styles of music, it might be fun to play some simple instruments. As...
View ArticleNew Assignment
There is an old saying that the only constant in life is change. After a rocky start teaching music to the children at our church, it became one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. But...
View ArticleThe Ultimate Compliment
My assignment in our church congregation had changed from teaching children music to scouting, and I had been a scout leader for about six months. My wife, Donna, was the new leader of the children’s...
View ArticleToys, New and Old
The week before Christmas, our five-year-old granddaughter was extremely excited when her mother let her call me. Our grandson was calmer about it, as he always is. And the little two-year-old was...
View ArticleInspections
Building a home of your own can be a challenge. One of the hardest parts is passing all of the inspections. There is plumbing, framing, insulation, electrical, and the list seems to go on and on. I...
View ArticleThe Renaissance Fair
Now that their children were raised, Lydia wanted to do something she had always hoped to do: form a quartet. It would not be just any quartet. She wanted to have her three friends join her at...
View ArticleShowing Gratitude
Sherrie had just moved into a new neighborhood the last week of October that year. She and her husband were young and recently married, and she couldn’t wait to get to know the people around her. She...
View ArticleJust One of Those Days
We are trying to move things to our new place so we can sell our old one. I have a million things to do, so I thought I’d start by taking our tent trailer and parking it on our new property. I checked...
View ArticleDate Night Social
At the religious university where I work, COVID took a heavy toll on everyone. I’m not talking about sickness or death. I’m talking about a social toll. Students, sequestered away for a year, struggled...
View ArticleThe Test Question
It was finals week. Most students were busy taking tests and trying to do their last clean checks before they left. Others were preparing for graduation and moving on to the next part of their lives....
View ArticleI Don’t Speak Spanish
My mother learned to speak Spanish in her youth and fell in love with the language and the people. She became so fluent in it that the courts would call her to help them when their regular translator...
View ArticleMy Red Badge of Courage
I try to give blood as often as I can. According to the Red Cross, my blood is not only one of the most needed, but it also has a rare characteristic. I can’t explain it, but it has something or lacks...
View ArticleTime’s Up
For church on Sundays, my wife, Donna, and I work with college-age youth. The church meetings are held on a church-owned campus, so on Sundays, classrooms become Sunday School rooms, and faculty...
View ArticleThe Spray Bottle
My wife, Donna, is a band instrument repair person. She has been repairing instruments for twenty-one years. She has become proficient at it. As a member of NAPBIRT (National Association of...
View ArticleApril Fools Test
We were coming to the end of our third unit in College Algebra, so I reminded my students that we had a test coming up. “It will open next Friday, April 1st, so make sure you work on the test review.”...
View ArticlePutting it all Together
The phone rang, and Jacob picked it up. The person on the other end explained what they had called about, and once he understood, he apologized: “I’m sure that’s not what Mary meant.” They talked...
View ArticlePutting it all Together (Part 2)
To read the first part of this story, CLICK HERE. Jacob was concerned about his wife, Mary, because she didn’t always think things through logically before making decisions. This had caused a problem...
View ArticlePutting on a Positive Spin
A cousin of mine just passed away. Becky was a great lady, and I’ll miss her a lot. She was also a writer, having written for farm magazines for years. She also wrote children’s books and books about...
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