Our journeys are not always easy. At first, we were made aware of weather delays facing our 10:30 a.m. flight. Later the pilot announced the baggage loaders could not get one of the cargo doors to close properly. That took more than an hour. I trusted that duct tape was not involved. We arrived at DFW Airport after our departing flight to Boston had been in the air for 30 minutes. We entered the twilight zone world of customer service. The lines were long. There were no flights to Boston that night. Our daughter Donelle found us the best option of flying to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 8:00 p.m. to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Boston. Customer service was glad to know that was an option. We ate a relaxed and good meal, then went to the gate to await the flight. At some point the departure time was changed an hour (ultimately 3 hours), meanwhile, to give us something meaningful to do, the airline changed the gate number 4 times, so we could visit most of the airport’s terminals, and learn all about the tramway system that loops the various scenic vistas of the building. Our plane to Harrisburg arrived at 3 a.m. Not much is happening in the airport at that time of the morning. We made our flight to Boston, arriving at 8:30 a.m.

Our Boston Freedom Trail Walking Tour was rescheduled to 1:30 so we could get to our motel, have breakfast, and freshen up. Towards the end of our excellent 2-hour walk it began to rain. We politely bowed out and found shelter in an historic building next to a food court. Ice cream was involved. We made it back to the motel and slept about 12 hours before it was time to pack it all up and head out for our 7-day anniversary cruise, which was perfectly delightful in every way. 

Back to the airport, and homeward bound. As the stewardess was demonstrating how seatbelts work, the power shut off and the emergency lights came on. I, for one, was glad that happened before we tried to take off. There was a faulty fuel component that had to be replaced. On that 4-hour flight the tray tables were broken, the armrests would not stay up, and the toilets did not flush, other than that, we prayed and read a lot. Going through Customs and racing through DFW, we still missed our connection to Tulsa by five minutes. Spending a short night at a nearby motel, these grumpy campers boarded the 7 a.m. flight to Tulsa. Thankfully, we made it home safely. Enjoy the good days to the fullest.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Journey onward. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Bro. Darryl

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We spend our whole lives as time travelers. Today’s physicists are rethinking the importance of time as a more fundamental element of the universe. Time has traditionally been viewed as a human reference point to help us anticipate the seasons, number our days, and socially know when to be where. Also, it was thought that time throughout the universe was relative to earth. Now the discussion is considering time on equal standing with gravity and light. We, the people of earth, travel at a speed of approximately 66,627 mph around the sun. It takes one year to complete the circuit. The earth and the Sun travel around the center of the Milky Way at a speed of 448,000 mph, which in turn is travelling through the universe at 1.3 million miles per hour, give or take. All the while everything is perfectly balanced by gravitational forces, like the moon perfectly balanced, rotating around the earth with such precision that the tides of every ocean can be predicted for any date. We have been travelling into the future; it is here today.

Stories and movies are filled with the what if’s of people going back in time to fix the future or royally mess it up. When we read a book or watch a program, we go mentally and emotionally to the time of its setting. I enjoy riding along in the future with Star Trek stories. All of us time travel in our memories past and dreams of possible futures. We long to know the future with certainty. Jesus challenges us to discern today, Luke 12:54-56. We do this by seeking to understand how God is leading us to live, love, witness, and serve, pointing others to the cross and empty tomb, and onward toward salvation today, and the hope of His glory to come.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Travel well. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Jeremiah 1:11-19

“These are rough times in this country to express an opinion.” Humorist Will Rogers, Dec. 16, 1929

As a long-serving local church pastor, I face a tension keeping unity in the fellowship and speaking forth prophetic insights on Sunday. These are rough times. Religious people have been known to stone their prophets.  True prophets rarely pastor a church for long. It is much easier to be a prophet when your family’s livelihood is not involved.

Jeremiah’s call as a young man included a vision test: What do you see, Jeremiah? Before the office was elevated in 1 Samuel, prophets were called seers, somewhat like a fortune teller. True prophets tell forth the future consequences of sinful actions and ethical irresponsibility. Their insights are directed toward God’s own people (believers and hypocrites alike) and to those who are in positions of power and authority. It includes a call to both personal and societal repentance of sin, and a change of ways to match God’s will. With a possible play on words, God’s response was, I’m watching what you see, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s call also includes a call to personal action: Get yourself ready…Do not be terrified, or I will terrify you…I am with you and will rescue you. Jeremiah felt the tension. How does this word about prophetic insight apply to us today? How do we manage the emotional need to please everyone and not cause more rough times? How far are we willing to go in trusting God?  What do you see?

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Stand firm with God. And let’s experience the love and power of God together,

(Adapted from Bro. Darryl’s devotional based on Jeremiah 1:11-19 for the Center for Congregational Ethics, for August 23, 2025)

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I am sharing this story from 2012 with Deacon’s permission.

Deacon told his kindergarten teacher that he was going camping with his grandpa over the Labor Day weekend. She said, “You’re going camping with Papa D?” “How did you know his name was Papa D?”  “I was your brother’s teacher.” So, Deacon and I went camping. Actually, we stayed in the Minister’s Cabin at Tulakogee Baptist Assembly on Lake Ft. Gibson. I had booked the cabin for four days of personal retreat starting on Thursday night. He and his Mama D joined me on Sunday evening. The primary purpose of our trip, Deacon informed me, was to go fishing.

On Monday morning we headed off to the bait shop. I asked him about the kind of bait we should get—minnows, crickets or worms. “Get worms. Fish love worms.” We explored a couple of good fishing spots, settling on the fishing dock at the camp. Deacon explained to me that when we caught a fish, we were to “take out the eyeballs,” cut it up and take it to Mama D to cook it. He told me all about fishing with his own little rod and reel. Then I opened the box of worms.

Ewww! went the voice next to me as I baited his hook. We set the bobber, and he cast it in the water quite to his satisfaction. I started to bait my hook. “Papa D, I can’t see my bobber.” His pole was bent nearly in half, the bobber surfaced then disappeared again. He had caught the big one. Really, it was about three pounds.  Ewww!  Deacon, it turns out, is more impressed with the idea of fishing, than actually dealing with a big flathead catfish. He did not want to cut it up or even get close enough to have his picture taken with it. So, we set the fish free. A little while later he caught a smaller catfish. Soon he was finished for the day.  He had caught a big fish!  We will go fishing again.  

I know people who are impressed with the idea of being a disciple of Jesus, yet, when it comes to actually living the challenging, gritty life of a disciple, Ewww! They love the heaven part, tolerate church people sometimes, and ignore God’s words. Authentic disciples keep after it and help make disciples. You know, Go into all the world and make disciples…

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Go fishing. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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My car is a traveling office, storage bin and lunchroom. It had never been cleaned and detailed by anyone other than me. I have owned this car since 2019. We decided it needed a more professional cleaning. We arranged the place and date, and worked out the logistics of both of us getting to work close to on time. They finished my car just before the lunch hour, making it possible for us to pick the car up without Dorothy losing any office time. The car looked beautiful. I settled up with the company and happily drove off to get some lunch for myself. Only as I was heading down the road did I realize that the air conditioner was not working properly.

I was at that complicated area around South Memorial and the Creek Turnpike where the city designed the streets to switch from right to left before switching back to the way normal streets are supposed to go. I couldn’t just turn around and go back to the place without going a mile or so out of the way. I had to roll down the windows to accommodate for the lack of A/C.  Just as I pulled up to turn back into the car detail shop, I heard an odd noise and noticed dust going everywhere. It was a city crew blowing freshly mowed grass into my car. It turned out that the detailer had polished all the air vents tightly closed and pushed random buttons and settings with complete abandon. Later at home I vacuumed out the grass and tried to wipe away the dust.

Staying clean is not easy. We are always having to clean up things and ourselves. Coming clean is a way of life, isn’t it? Coming clean with our sins—before ourselves, before others and before God Almighty—is the spiritual necessity for each of us every single day. King David confessed his sin and prayed for a clean heart (Psalm 51).  Confession is how God cleans the soul. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep clean. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Imagine residing near an active volcano. Apparently, more people do it than we imagine. Mt. Kilauea is America’s most active volcano. It has been putting on a spectacular display for months, erupting with brilliant flourishes. You can view the eruption live on YouTube/twopineapples. It is most impressive at night. Dorothy and I once took a close-up helicopter ride over this volcano after a major eruption had subsided. We saw the lava slowly oozing into the ocean. We felt the heat and saw the molten red cracks in the grayish lava.  When we were first married, I promised to take her to Hawaii for our 25^th wedding anniversary. That was such a long way off I thought she might forget. Instead, she opened an Hawaii savings account at the bank and made occasional contributions into it. (All of this is on my mind as we are celebrating our 55^th anniversary this week.)

When we arrived at our 24^th anniversary, Dorothy had not forgotten my promise of Hawaii. I mentioned the Hawaii account, and how it ought to amount to something by now. It did–the balance stood at $250.00. Apparently, “we had things come up.” Only with the miracle of God’s provision were we able to head to Hawaii on schedule. It was amazing that Dorothy agreed to fly in the helicopter in the first place, much less over an active volcano. Living around a volcano can be hazardous. The ocean erupts into giant cauldrons of steam as lava flows into it. We could see the smoldering remains of homes, businesses, old vehicles and telephone poles. A jungle was overtaking once peaceful neighborhoods. Yet, a few minutes later we flew over fancy hotels and the busy inner city of Hilo. People were shopping, working or dealing with tourists like us. 

Living on the side of an active volcano seems risky to me, but then, to those who live in Hawaii, living in the middle of Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley might seem dangerous too. It becomes a matter of perspective. There’s the view on the ground, from above, from a distance, or virtually. Faith is a way of living that sees through the lens of Jesus and His love. It can be more awesome than seeing a volcano.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. See Jesus. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” says the flustered Wizard of Oz, as he tries to hide his whiz-bang technology. But to no avail. The truth of his trickery is revealed. I thought of that scene this past week as we watch another showman try to keep the curtain closed. According to L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz series, the wizard had been a traveling carnival magician. Speaking as a former amateur magician, no entertainer wants curious eyes looking behind the curtain. The puzzlement, or awe of the effect, is the point. The wizard had created an illusionary world of fear and subjugation. Smoke, mirrors, and great big projections created multiple distractions in Oz. It was a curious little dog named Toto that revealed it all. 

We live in an age where private acts and unguarded moments will live on forever. See the video of the CEO and his mistress on the Kiss Cam at the Coldplay Concert? When nearly everyone in the world has a camera-telephone in their pocket, anyone can become a news reporter or private eye.  Things once spoken or written for a specific audience are now saved on computers in the cloud, even after they have been deleted. The lines between privacy and security have become blurred. 

Jesus once reminded His followers: What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight (Luke 12:1-4). So how then should we live? Jesus is encouraging us to be people of integrity, honesty and truthfulness. He warns us not to become deceivers. My great-grandmother used to say: Be sure your sins will find you out.  Things got better in Oz when the curtain was opened, and the wizard faced the world humbled and flawed.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Check your curtain. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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One of our pastors in my youth was a heavy man who admitted he was big even as a boy. Whenever he was preaching and got close to Galatians 6:7, he would tell the same story. Being able to tell the same story repeatedly as if it were the first time, is an artform passed from generation to generation, and not just to preachers. He would recount being assigned one hot muggy day to plant seven rows of corn in the backyard garden. The rows were already tilled. He was given a small bag of seed corn and a dowel stick of a precise length. The assignment was to poke a hole in the soil, place one seed in it, lay the stick down and poke a hole with the other end. To hear him tell it, he thought he would die after a few seeds. He was sweating, he was dirty, his knees hurt, and his back was beginning to ache. By the time he got to the top of the fourth row, he was done. He sat leaning on the fence when he had an idea. He would plant the first 3 or 4 seeds at the front of the remaining rows and bury the rest of the seeds in the back. His parents were so proud of him. He was so proud of himself for getting away with it.

It only took a couple of weeks for his deception to be discovered. The gardener always tends the details—looking for bugs and weeds and mischief. His father noticed the empty rows behind the tender shoots of corn. It was a mystery. Were there rabbits or birds raiding the garden? Eventually he saw the clump beginning to sprout by the fence. Reaping what you sow always means a day of reckoning has arrived. A better approach is to just be honest from the start.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Truth will prevail. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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This week marks the culmination of our partnership with our sister congregation, Iglesias Monte Los Olivos, The Mount Olive Church. What began as a group of believers seeking a church home has become a vibrant congregation with significant influence in our community. I am reflecting today on the impact our congregations have had on each other over these 25 years. They faithfully undergirded us with much prayer and hard work. They invested tens of thousands of dollars along with us into the facilities and outreach of our neighborhood. They have been very good co-laborers together in Christ.

A band of about 25 people, including children, gathered in our Fellowship Hall to organize as Departamento Salem. Their first Sunday with us was April 8, 2000, Palm Sunday. Ariel Benitz was chosen as their leader. We organized English classes (ESL), provided leadership training opportunities, and ordained their pastors and deacons to ministry and service. They steadily grew in numbers, eventually taxing the capacity of our Fellowship Hall. In 2010 they sought out a location of their own. They found and purchased an old church near Pine and N. Harvard. By 2013, they had outgrown that facility, and we invited everyone back to Braden Park. Lately we have been working toward transferring our church property to them, but recently the congregation felt compelled to purchase a church at 147 S. Sheridan Ave, about a mile east of us. This Sunday, June 29, we send them forth with our prayers and blessings. Pastor Francisco Gaona, who has been a friend and ministry partner to me, and the dedicated congregation will spread the Gospel light, expanding the Word of Christ deeper into our community. We are seeking God’s direction in new ministry partnerships and discipleship opportunities. Join with us in the discussions and the opportunities that are emerging before us.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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This is adapted from 2011: We never had the talk. You know, the “What we would do if he died” discussion about our bird. It might have helped. So here it is, a few days after our cockatiel Dini has died. We are still discussing funeral arrangements, looking for a proper burial site and asking about the right kind of headstone. Dini had been a part of the family for a very long time. We knew he was getting old, but we had never discussed these kinds of things. On Thursday he suffered an apparent stroke, affecting the left side of his body. He died on Saturday, May 7, as I was holding and comforting him in my hands. It was a bittersweet time. And yes, he was the very same bird that I set loose in church one Sunday morning in 1981. He became the object lesson of the longest running children’s sermon ever. (You can relive that story under the title Dini Goes to Church from October 2023.)

Dini was present for every meal in our kitchen since the day he was hatched, September 7, 1979. His cage had been by the kitchen table where he saw and heard everything. He always sang every time I came home. When we returned from a recent trip to Texas, he sang as loudly and vigorously as ever to the point Dorothy and I both commented on it. But we knew that old age was catching up with him. I guess we did not want to think that he would really die. He would lose his balance while sleeping and fall from his perch or be suddenly startled and fall from his perch. He would always climb his way back up, but he took to spending more and more time on the cage floor resting. He lived a remarkable 31 years and 8 months. We miss him. I just wish we had talked through this final part earlier. We included the family in the discussions. We settled on a resting place in the flowerbed just outside our kitchen door. We secured and had engraved a black granite brick, which reads:

Dini

9/7/1979 – 5/7/2011

He was a very good bird

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Talk the talk. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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