This week, Willie and I went to see a member of our congregation who had to have unexpected surgery. We decided that she needed some flowers to help her feel better and even better, Willie decided not to dig the soil out of the planter or eat the flowers! (This was a pretty hard choice …
I thought I was going to miss out on National Running Day. On Monday, I was taking the pups for a long run when Waylon decided that he was going to say hey to a security guard on the trail. He crossed in front of me (a big no no, for leash training) and I …
A part of this crazy bi-vocational life I am currently living is a weekly podcast with Elisabeth called ThinkingOutLoud. It’s a show I started when I started to work with authors a year ago. I never imagined that there was someone out there just about as crazy as I am that believed the world of publishing …
One of the legends in the Neely household growing up about me is that I was always complaining to my parents that I wanted to live in a neighborhood. One of the main reasons I wanted to live in a neighborhood in high school was because my friends did, but also because during the summer, …
It’s funny to me that Willie and I started off the day with him sitting on our porch waiting for me to get the backseat ready for him to ride. Then, when we got to Mr. J, we ended up sitting on the porch with him. We sat next to him and Willie settled at …
This week when Willie put on his vest, he immediately was ready to go to work. He sat up straight in the back of the car and kept looking at me to see where we were going. We went back to see Mr. S this week at his nursing home facility. When we walked up …
I was eating yogurt with one of my congregants who has a birthday this week. When I walked in she was helping out a young mom who was trying to wrestle two little girls and get yogurt at the same time. This led to a conversation about how we knew each other. When she discovered …
I’ve experienced this first hand: In the face of this reality, a new opportunity is emerging. In fact, there’s growing evidence this new generation will bring the greatest opportunity for small church ministry in 2,000 years. Why? Because, as the first generation with a majority born and raised outside traditional marriage, genuine relationships and intimate …
I’ve been thinking a lot about my first students from my first class this May. Been wondering about whether they and their families are in this same position. The never-ending cycle is real and haunts too many people in our society: But this subsidized housing is all she can afford. Most of Houser’s paycheck goes …
Dog collars against dog leash. Birds heylookiehereherehere heylookiehereherehere. Lawnmowers starting. Car doors opening. Saturday greetings. Aggravated Owner Lady come here! Leave those dogs alone. Dogs happy panting. Birds whirlywhirlywhirlydo whirlywhirlywhirlydo. Water hoses spraying freshly cleaned cars. Dogs’ toenails clicking on asphalt. Chihuahuas yapping. Home hellos. Tired dogs’ snores.
