by Rev Phil | Apr 17, 2024 | You've Got This!
For the first time in my life, I owe the government money after filing my taxes. The news came like a blow to the solar plexus. I’m used to getting a healthy refund at tax time, which I use to pay for my villa in France (kidding, the villa is in Portugal). I’m not...
by Rev Phil | Apr 10, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
My blogs are posted on Wednesdays, but I write them on Mondays. I am writing this blog as the solar eclipse is occurring outside of my window. By the time you read this, the eclipse will be history, and you will no longer have to hear phrases such as “the path of...
by Rev Phil | Apr 3, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
Someone asked me this week if I was a “Swiftie”. At first, I thought they were asking me if I owned a Swiffer. I don’t. It took an awkward moment or two, but we cleared that up. What this person really wanted to know was if I was a fan of Taylor Swift’s...
by Rev Phil | Mar 27, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
I was a church-going veteran by the time I was 10 years old. My parents made sure we never missed a service. We were as regular as the mail – “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…”. That means that we were there, even on Good Friday, to listen to the...
by Rev Phil | Mar 20, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
Believe it or not, there is someone out there who does not like the season of spring!! The Russian poet and playwright Alexander Pushkin had such an aversion to the season he felt a need to voice his displeasure: Now is my time: I bear no love for spring. The floods,...
by Rev Phil | Mar 13, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
It’s rare for St. Patrick’s Day to fall on a Sunday, so we are going to make the most of it at Northwest with a service devoted to all things Irish. Having never been to the Emerald Isle, I’m a bit out of my depth. So, I’ve been spending some time this week delving...
by Rev Phil | Mar 6, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
I have a new companion that accompanies me in my car every single day. Her job is to evaluate my driving. She doesn’t say anything but quietly takes notes on everything I do, from how hard I apply my brakes to how fast I am going, to how distracted I am, and how...
by Rev Phil | Feb 28, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
The Jewish mystic and writer, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, once wrote, “for though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we are each free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world.” Since Covid, Northwest Barrie United...
by Rev Phil | Feb 21, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
Oprah Winfrey once said, “skiing is the next best thing to having wings”. I had no idea Oprah was a skier, so I looked it up. Not only does she ski, but she recently bought a $14,000,000 ski chalet in the Colorado mountains. Now that’s commitment!! I tested her...
by Rev Phil | Feb 14, 2024 | Thinking Out Loud
Happy Valentine’s Day!! According to experts who track such things, the average person will spend $176 on Valentine’s Day. Are you average? According to the same experts (who seem to have a lot of time on their hands), the thing that you are most likely to...
