On My Mind

Is it Too Early to Have a Party?

By Joe Barnett / July 2, 2016 / Comments Off on Is it Too Early to Have a Party?

Luke 15:11-31 I smiled when I saw the sign in the front yard. It was as big as a bedsheet: WELCOME HOME DAVE! Dave was the son of Jack and Nancy Carter. Fine young man. He had just finished the semester and was coming home to Littleton, Colorado, for the summer. You see it when […]

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You’ve Come, But Will You Stay?

By Joe Barnett / June 4, 2016 / Comments Off on You’ve Come, But Will You Stay?

He was rich. But something was missing. So he came to Jesus with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17). Obey the commandments. Done that. What else must I do? Well, if you’re serious, sell your stuff, give to the poor, and follow me. That was setting the bar too […]

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News that Doesn’t Make the News

By Joe Barnett / May 7, 2016 / Comments Off on News that Doesn’t Make the News

Day to day, year to year, news remains pretty much the same … A war going on somewhere. Violence on some street in our hometown. People fighting for position, power, a bigger slice of the pie. Hunger, with pictures so appalling we have to look away. Those who have fallen on hard times living in […]

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Certainties

By Joe Barnett / April 2, 2016 / Comments Off on Certainties

Some wag said, “The only thing in life that is certain is that nothing is certain.” Really? Here are three things about which I feel certain … Life is a gift from God to be treasured and enjoyed. “Can I help you find something?” “Yes, thank you. I need a carton of kindness, a package […]

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What Are You Going to do with the Rest of Your Life?

By Joe Barnett / March 5, 2016 / Comments Off on What Are You Going to do with the Rest of Your Life?

The day Frederick Buechner graduated from Princeton he and his classmates were lining up to march to their commencement seats when a fellow-graduate moseyed down the column asking each person, “What are you going to do now?” A few had a job lined up. A good number were headed to graduate school. But for some […]

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Look at the Hands

By Joe Barnett / February 6, 2016 / Comments Off on Look at the Hands

It’s a story that begins badly, but has a happily-ever-after ending. Two guys got it all wrong, but Jesus put it all right. (Lk. 24:13-31) Their world had fallen apart. As they walked and talked, Jesus joined them; but they didn’t recognize him. Maybe that was because they weren’t expecting to see him. After all, […]

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I Forgot

By Joe Barnett / January 2, 2016 / Comments Off on I Forgot

People avoided her. Thought she was whacko. She claimed that she and Jesus talked one-on-one every night; said he told her about the shenanigans of people who thought their secrets were … well, secret. Someone told her she should validate these alleged conversations by asking her minister if she was really talking with Jesus or […]

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It Hurts to Let Go

By Joe Barnett / December 5, 2015 / Comments Off on It Hurts to Let Go

I had often enjoyed her friendly wave and cheerful smile; she was on cloud nine when working in the yard with her husband. Then one day a door wreath rustled in the wind; the love of her life was gone. I passed her house each morning and observed her becoming increasingly frail. This morning a […]

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Father, Make Me Nice

By Joe Barnett / November 7, 2015 / Comments Off on Father, Make Me Nice

Elementary school. Sybil. Sybil was poor and cross-eyed. She wore homemade dresses and thick glasses. They called her Four-Eyes. The class bully got in her face and shouted, “You’re ugly, Sybil. Ugglllyyyy!” Kids laughed. Sybil cried. She was too timid to talk back; too hurt to fight back. She just cowered alone in the corner […]

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Don’t Forget the P.S.

By Joe Barnett / October 3, 2015 / Comments Off on Don’t Forget the P.S.

Nothing is impossible with God. Abraham and Sarah would soon have a hundred candles on their cake. They had no children, not one. So when God told them their descendants would be as numberless as the stars they cracked up. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” God asked. “I will return to you at the […]

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