Daley Ponderings

Jon wrote today: When I said it was a "bad day" the other day, a nurse corrected me and said "good moments and bad moments". This morning was good and she played in the playroom for quite a while. She did throw up after eating. But has continued to ask for food, and hasn't... (More)

(this was written January 2024, referring to Grace's first two years of life) When Grace was about six weeks old, right at the beginning of December 2021 , I noticed that she had “ café au lait spots .” I looked it up on the internet, and discovered that these... (More)

12/4 - F putting on chapstick.  Joy recalls, "Last time my lips sting.  Now my lips better." 12/6 - JDD, in a growly voice, with a straw stuck in his teeth and the other end in a glass of water, "I am the savage, saber-toothed mosquito!" 12/6 - JPD upper right primary incisor 12/7 -... (More)

I'll take this opportunity, home from church with two sick kids, to post my notes. 10/19 - JDD, "Most fun things are spoiled if you HAVE to do them."  I forget the context of his quote but it reminded me of my thought at the harvest supper.  The middle and high school youth groups... (More)

Heather and I had the opportunity to attend a marriage retreat with 10 or so couples from our church this weekend, up at Rangeley Lake in Maine (thanks Scott, for the house!) We were the youngest couple (by far, the average marriage length represented there was 31 years), and we haven't... (More)

We arrived at the Fitzkees' house on Thursday night, and Nick said we could stay as long as we wanted.  We ended up extending our trip by a day and coming home on Tuesday, which was a good decision.  I think we spent the right amount of time for the whole family to enjoy the... (More)

In conclusion, the authors talk some about definitions of success and how those definitions affect how you see yourself and your church. He is quick to point out that large churches are not always bad, but points out various downsides of being in a large church, some of which I have... (More)

This chapter is basically comparing Eastern and Western religions, though I think those terms aren't ever actually used.  And they argue against those Christians that would like to introduce Eastern practices into Christian. "Contemplation, silence and... (More)

I am not sure what I think about this chapter.  The authors argue for Christian pastoral care within a communal setting, as opposed to the "professional" counseling.  I have heard of a couple stories of people violently against that idea, though I haven't seen anything bad... (More)

Again, probably showing my bias, I didn't get a whole lot out of the "World Mission" chapter, so I am going to combine two chapters into one post. The gospel word is a word for the present about the future.  Hope is integral to our message.  Non-Christians... (More)

So, as most of you know, in March I went on my first ever short-term mission trip to Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic with college students from Penn State, University of Pittsburgh and a handful from other places. It is almost a month later, and I've been meaning to write down... (More)

"The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning." -- Emil Brunner Mission very easily becomes one activity among others in church life.  It sits on the agenda alongside a list of other items bying for attention.  Or it is left to the enthusiasts to get on... (More)

Partly due to doing things with my family and partly due to catching up at work after last week of very little work, I haven't read much lately, and then when I did read, it was late at night, and figured I'd wait until I was in front of a computer to blog about it, rather than using the phone... (More)

"Francis of Assisi is alleged to have said, 'Preach the gospel always; if necessary use words.'  That may be a great medieval sound bite, but it falls short of what the Bible teaches about evangelism." I used to like that quote, and the evangelism models it leads... (More)

I won't do a whole review, as I probably wouldn't do all that good of a job, but I'm re-reading it because a friend from church asked to borrow it, and I thought I would read through it again before I loaned it to him, so I could better recommend it appropriately. Dave Skiles... (More)