I have a favorite Christmas hymn that I am uncomfortable singing. It is one of the most beloved Christmas hymns, and I love it too, with reservation. I am a man conflicted!

There are many commonly used words in the English language to which are affixed a prefix or suffix. As commonly used as these compound words are, the same word, without the prefix or suffix accessory, is rarely used, if ever. For example, you might be overwhelmed by the price of eggs at the grocery store, but have you ever been simply whelmed? Whelmed is a legit word that means, “to engulf, surge, or bury.” The rising cost of those eggs might make you feel disgruntled, but when have you ever been gruntled by an egg price? Yes, it too is a legit word that means, “satisfied.”

For almost the entirety of my 36 years of full-time Christian ministry, I have avoided planting a church with the same zealous determination that I avoid liver and onions. Yet here I am in Navarre planting a church.

Christians, it is that season of the year when you can expect your pastor to ask your congregation, “What are you thankful for?” The question ignites your organic search engine to launch a scan of your recent history for any events or circumstances that rise to the level of thanks-worthiness. Pastors always hope that the question will open a floodgate of thanksgiving, and sometimes it does. When it doesn’t, we resort to coaxing, restating the question again and again into the uncomfortable silence. Of course, we pastors could break the silence with our own expressions of thanks.

My wife says I can find a topic for a column in the most mundane things. I think she is exaggerating. Anyway, I was walking from the kitchen to my office with a full cup of coffee trying not to spill. It seemed that the more I focused on not spilling, the more likely it was that I would. Caution made my posture rigid, my gait stiff. Slight missteps elicited a jerky correction that set the hot liquid in motion.

Independence is a word cherished by most in this country. On July 4, 1776, the United States of America officially declared its independence from Great Britain. My home country of Canada was not officially declared independent until 1982!

I write these columns the week before they are published, so this piece will be read two days after the presidential election. It is safe for me to predict, now less than one week out, that roughly half of this nation is cheering the election results, and the other half is sorely disappointed, perhaps even angry. I suspect this could be said of any election.

Tonight is Halloween, and my wife and I will be dishing out candy to the costumed kids coming to our door – it’s a good way to meet neighbors – but we are not promoting the celebration. No giant skeletons or inflatable ghosts clutter our front yard, and no lit jack-o-lanterns sit outside our front door, which may explain why we do not get many callers. Not to worry, I have taken it as my personal duty to eat any leftover candy, a duty from which I will not waver.

I met a gentleman a week ago who told me that his son is the pastor of a “growing church.” We like to hear churches described that way, but what does it mean? It is typically meant to communicate that the number of people attending that church is growing. No reflection on the aforementioned “growing church,” but increasing attendance is not necessarily the evidence of a growing church.

I have admitted before in this column that I am a horrible horticulturist. My home is the place where plants go to die. Yet, as I type this column, outside my window sits a tall, lush basil plant – a picture of health. I had purchased it as a small plant along with a big bag of plant soil at the garden center earlier this year. With regular watering it did well for about a month, but one day it began to look tired and wilted. I gave it some plant food and more water. The plant must have assumed that was its last meal because it soon looked dead. I was about to add another plant to my list of kills until my wife said in passing, “I think your basil plant needs more soil.”