Reflections

Having been involved in the pregnancy care centers for 17 years, I have seen a lot of changes. In 2000, I joined Salem Pregnancy Care Center board located in Winston Salem, NC. Motivated from the life experience of being married to an adopted child whose birth-mother was ministered to during her crisis pregnancy, it was my hopes in some small way to give back and just maybe help a mother who was considering an abortion and to help her rethink that decision. There’s no question that when leadership in North Carolina passed the NC Woman’s Right to Know Act” (House Bill 854 / S.L. 2011-405), supporters of life were excited.   Like any divisive issue, it came with extensive criticism. The law was passed and went into effect in October 2011. The bill outlined several new guidelines which must be met and carried out before a woman can receive an abortion. It was originally vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly. North Carolina...

Saturday Night came on quickly with the hint of an autumn cold. I took 2 Nyquil cold pills and my eye lids suddenly became so heavy that I couldn’t lift them. Forgoing my nightly ritual, I woke up after 8 solid hours of sleep and realized that I did not plug in my iPhone. In today’s world, that’s like going to bed with your shoes on…. you just don’t forget something like that. The coma-like sleep I enjoyed in actuality was an unintentional experiment.   You could call it a scientific procedure undertaken without intention, but with a new discovery demonstrating an unrealized fact. So, here’s how the experiment took place. Before getting on the way to church this morning, I asked Siri what the weather would be. I looked at my phone and only had 12% of my battery left. I thought to myself, I’ll get 10% in the car on the way. By the time we left the driveway, I realized that the car charger was in another vehicle. I began to think…conservation!! On Sundays, I use my p...

“The one who chooses to Love will find appropriate ways to express that decision everyday.”   Gary Chapman Gary, Karolyn, Liz and me Scrolling through the net, I came upon this quote. Gary is a pastor at my church, a number 1 best-selling author and more importantly a friend. In this quote, a couple of words really jumped out at me. The first word was “chooses”. Thinking about love; I went inward. There is no doubt that Elizabeth (my wife) chooses to love me. I am certain there are times I’m a very unlovable person. But because she makes that personal decision to love me, it causes me to love her even more. While Elizabeth in my eyes has very few flaws, I’ll go out on a limb and tell you that she isn’t perfect. But as I have gotten older, I have intentionally chosen to look inward when I see others flaws outwardly. It gives me pause to realize I am no perfect person. I have a lot of issues myself. The fact that Elizabeth “chooses” to love me causes my love ...

It couldn’t be me? Grant it, I’m middle age, but how could this have happen to me. Coming to terms with the aging process can really frustrate a young minded middle age guy (notice my description of self). Although I could stand to lose 15 pounds, I have always been health conscience attempting to stay active. I’ve considered myself very healthy. Over the last few years, Elizabeth and I have argued about very little. However, when we get in front of the TV, we played tug-a-war with the volume. I wanted it on 18, she wanted it on 10. For a long time, I thought it was just a gender thing. Later, I began struggling in group settings hearing people I would be having a conversation with. Then, embarrassed, people would speak to me and I would simply nod my head to acknowledge them. They could have been asking me a question, they could have told me they thought I was stupid….I’d just grin and try to change the subject to “it’s a great day”. It honestly...

I purchased my NASA approved eclipse glasses on Amazon. As they promised,  they were delivered within two days. As with half the population within 100 miles of either side of the totality line, our office waited in great expectation. When the time came, sporting my safety glasses, I looked up into the heavens. The picture that I saw was amazing. It spoke to me of heaven itself. Years ago, King David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and their expanse shows the work of his hands." Obviously, I don't look into the eye of the sun on a regular basis. But with these powerful shades, for just a moment I could see the sun and moon perfectly pair with each other. I said to myself, this didn't happen by accident. How could it? I looked up and beheld the majesty of an almighty creator. If you're a person who is skeptical about this God thing, think about yesterday. Think about the chances of this happening. It couldn't have happen without an intellig...

Wrong Today, I reached out and offered a handshake to a young millennial. Don't think I'm picking on that age group, that's just what he was. He's not a friend of mine on social media, so he probably won't read this blog...but if so...good. I remember my dad telling me as a young man, "offer a tight squeeze, and look the person in the eye".  This young man didn't attend the Jerry Swicegood School of Handshakes. I honestly felt like I was holding the hand of a corpse. It was limp and lethargic. If the hand had a personality, I would have called it melancholy. A short search on google identifies that the custom of handshakes started in the medieval times. As dangerous as those times were, it was important to demonstrate that you weren't carrying a weapon. Later it became a customary way for a gentleman to politely greet one another. Then it was a demonstration of a bond, an agreement. Today it is gender neutral. Right In 2017, I don...

Who would have thought in 1983 that my friend, Lee would be an executive manager of a successful town and I'd would have owned a business for 28 years.  We had just turned 16. We were idealistic young "bens" ( b oys trying to be m en ). School had just let out. For 9 months Lee was an experimental driver; one might call him a novice. Me on the other hand, I had only had my license for three months. But like most "country boys" we both had been driving the back roads since we were 13, praying we wouldn't get caught. I had a jack-up, large tired, roll-bar pick up strewn with KC 1,000,000 power spot lights. I considered myself a sophisticated redneck. For months we had been dreaming about heading to the mountains.  Camping, experiencing nature as two independent men (or so we thought). So the week after school was released, we loaded up the bed of the truck with sleeping bags, lounge chairs, coolers, flashlights, food, a tarp and rope. Basically everything ...