community – Page 3 – 300 words a day

Words matter

When I was a kid, this was a popular saying: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” (It dates back to 1862, but I am not that old.) But words do hurt. I recently heard a talk where the leader asked everyone to remember either words that hurt them or words […]

by Paul Merrill

Different Pencils

First published March 2, 2012. I enjoy making birthday cards by hand. I use colored pencils. I always sharpen them with a small Xacto knife, to maximize the lead from each pencil. If I used a pencil sharpener, I would not notice the different types of wood that make up each pencil. Even though my […]

by Paul Merrill

Faulty voices

We were fresh out of college and went off to the big city. Our first real jobs were exciting – and stretching. My buddy invited me to join him for church one Sunday. He was part of a televangelist-focused megachurch. The main preacher loved the spotlights and glory that came with his position. The wall […]

by Paul Merrill

Bittersweet fun

A new person that came into the group, and she fit a certain stereotype to a T. Her clothing reflected a style that passed out of vogue about 20 years ago. I was powerless. I knew a friend in that group would completely agree with my judgment and be equally amused. So after a tiny […]

by Jon Swanson

Creating noise.

I keep saying to people around church, “we are creating our own noise.” I realized that I need to take some time to explain what I mean. Imagine conversing with a friend in a quiet coffee shop. You’ve not seen each other for a long time. You’ve been looking forward to this conversation, this visit, […]