Tag Archives: community

The Thought for the Week Collection

Posted on October 20, 2025 by mitchteemley

Dear blogger friends: I’m in the midst of a week-long project. And so, in an effort to avoid creative overload, I’m taking a break from blogging. Meanwhile, I’m inviting you to peruse this extensive collection of: Thoughts for the Week … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Are You Still Wearing a Mask?

Posted on October 2, 2025 by mitchteemley

‘Self-Portrait With Mask’ by Felix Nussbaum (1928) “We are intensely attached,” Matthew Kelly observes, “to being perceived in a positive light. Even by people we don’t know and will never meet. Perhaps most telling, we even want to be perceived … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

What Will Define This Decade?

Posted on September 8, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week 24 years ago this week, terrorists struck America. And it, or rather how we responded to it, came to define the first decade of this century. Then, in the 20-teens, the world reeled from the Great … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 42 Comments

This Was Our Comedy Relief in 2020

Posted on May 16, 2025 by mitchteemley

Five years ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, people looked for comedy relief. Here are some of my favorite memes from the era of santizer and toilet paper shortages, social distancing, and working from home. Why does humor flourish during … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Becoming Part of a Bigger Family

Posted on April 28, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week We’re all a little bit racist. And sexist. And ageist. And a dozen other-things-ist. An ist is simply a bias or leaning, either away from or toward something. We lean toward what we know, and away … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Memoir, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

This Is the Meaning of Life

Posted on April 27, 2025 by mitchteemley

I don’t usually get choked up over doctrinal statements. But the first time I read this summary of the purpose of human life drafted by the Westminster Assembly, a gathering of English and Scottish clergy in 1646, something in me … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

It’s Time to Share the Load

Posted on April 12, 2025 by mitchteemley

“If we don’t share one another’s burdens, are we even truly alive?” ~The Wishing Map φ

Posted in Culture, Quips and Quotes, The Wishing Map | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Love in the Time of COVID

Posted on March 18, 2025 by mitchteemley

Today is our 40th Engagement Anniversary. And so, exactly five years ago today, my wife and I celebrated it, as we always do, with a candle-lit dinner and a bottle of wine. Only this time we ate at the world’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 89 Comments

Leaf Me Alone!

Posted on December 4, 2023 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week “Long after the surrounding trees have become skeletal figures amid autumnal quilts, the oaks shed their thick bronze leaves and watch indifferently as the wind blows them into neighbors’ yards. The world is like that, forever … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Don’t Love Your Family!

Posted on January 10, 2022 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week My title is a ruse. But it makes a point: There’s a widespread belief that loving your family and friends is the greatest virtue to which you can aspire. This is either true or false depending … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments