Words, Crosses & Wood Shavings

Words, Crosses & Wood Shavings

This is a new adventure for me: creating a blog where my writing is available in the public forum. It’s a bit daunting: there are so many blogs on the internet, what makes me think I have anything unique to offer? Frankly, I lay the blame at the feet of those around me – a very dear high school English teacher who has remained a friend and has encouraged my writing; a published poet who submitted one of my poems for publication; my wife who is a constant source of support; a sainted professor of English who took me under his wing; and some of the saints of God at my previous parish who thought I had a knack for the written word. So, with a modicum of encouragement, and the knowledge that I write a weekly sermon (granted – to be heard, not read), I’ll take the plunge and see how things turn out.

As a bit of introduction, by vocation, I am a Lutheran pastor, husband, father and neighbor. Words are a huge part of each of those pieces of my life. On any given day, I’m reading my kid's homework pages, helping create – I mean, edit - assignments, helping my wife with her classwork, or working on my weekly sermon. There are lots of words that get put down on paper or a computer screen each week in my house and study. Or, when not putting words in paper, I will often have words in front of me, reading to continue learning, growing, and thinking. Theology is always worth reading, and I spend a great deal of time with professional – that is to say, pastoral – reading. I’m in the process of moving, and while I cannot tell you the number of books I have, I  can tell you that my pastoral library is approximately 81 linear feet of books. That’s a lot of whiskey boxes – I assure you. In the evenings, I enjoy mystery and suspense novels, historical non-fiction, and other things that strike my fancy. I prefer to read, rather than watch, the news, and I keep a couple books loaded on my phone so if I’m stuck somewhere, I have something to read.

By avocation, I enjoy working with my hands. I am an amateur wood worker and dabble in all sorts of wood projects. I have a full woodshop and am getting pretty good at making toothpicks, sawdust, and boards that are too short. While I have plenty of power tools (insert Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor grunts here) I find great satisfaction in taking a sharp hand plane and, sliding it along the edge of a  a board, watching freshly cut, thin strips of wood curl into tight ribbons.

So, with an interest in words – especially words that tell the story of Jesus as Savior – and in making big pieces of wood into unique, small pieces of wood, I humbly enter the blogosphere with this blog titled “Crosses and Wood Shavings.” I intend to discuss theology, life in South Texas, family, ideas, woodworking, and living as a forgiven child of God.

Thanks for stopping by the shop.

And do be careful…slivers – whether of ideas or wood – have a way of sticking around a while.