OUT TO PASTOR: I thought she said ‘doughnut’

As hard as I try, and believe me, I try, I don’t always hear correctly, especially regarding The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. I know God gave me two ears and only one mouth, but I must confess I use my mouth a lot more than I use my ears, which has created problems.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: This life story begins in 1973 (kind of) part 64

I walked Corrina to her door, moving slowly up the herringbone brick walkway and up the old red-brick steps to the front porch.“Do you mind if I holler at your mom and dad?” I asked, coming to the door.

OUT TO PASTOR: Nothing is more satisfying than doing nothing

We were facing Hurricane Milton, and everything was being shut down. Milton was to hit us on a Wednesday night. Because we were in the center of where it was supposed to come, we were not allowed to get out and drive on the streets.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: This life story begins in 1973 (kind of) part 63

“Some teenagers were drag-racing that night,” Mama said, telling the story of the tragic night on a narrow two-lane Alabama highway, “and they came up over a hill going ‘a hundred,’ the police said. Daddy didn’t have time to swerve, so there was nothing to do but take the impact head-on.

OUT TO PASTOR: You break it, you fix it

Every once in a while, I hear or see something that reminds me of my father. He’s been gone for over 15 years, but his memory is still fresh in my mind.His most famous saying that I remember was, “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

OUT TO PASTOR: As if I didn’t already know

I’ve been accused of many things throughout my life, but having a great memory is not one of them.It’s not that I don’t try to remember things – I just can’t remember things I’m supposed to remember. This dramatically affects my relationship with The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: This life story begins in 1973 (kind of) part 62

The change of scenery from the Doocy’s yelping and hollering over the red ants to my standing on the McClain’s front porch as Corrina came out later that evening was an indescribable juxtaposition, although the incongruity was nothing new for the summer. I saw it every day.

OUT TO PASTOR: Where do all my nasal fluids come from?

I am finally in what I think is the last phase of my recent health confusion. My nose is dripping, and I think I use at least one box of tissues daily.I did not know I had so much of this in my body, and I am not exactly sure where it came from.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: This life story begins in 1973 (kind of) part 61

Mama, Corrina, and I had planned another ‘Fridays with Mama’ visit on what would have been the first or second Friday of July, not long before things took a turn for the worse.

OUT TO PASTOR: How can I get my sneeze back?

I’ve had a lot of health issues during this past year, and now that I seem to be over them, something else has taken their place. I have had a sneezing fit for the past two weeks that I’ve never experienced before. Every time I sneeze, it is in triplets.