With all the rain we have been having this summer on the Florida panhandle, I am giving serious consideration to building an ark! Anyone who knows me knows that me building anything is a disaster waiting to happen. My failed work projects are legend.

I am crazy about aircraft of all kinds but get particularly excited over military aircraft. Living in Navarre nestled among the many military bases and airfields, I’m three-for-three in the real estate maxim, location-location-location.

These days, there seems to be a credulity gap between what people say and what they do. The credulity gap to which I am referring is when a person or an institution champions an ideal but acts in a manner contrary to it. The technical term for this credulity gap is “an issue of plausibility.”

I don’t fly as much as I did earlier in ministry when I traveled to speak at various conferences. My most recent flying experience has not made me eager to fly more. I was traveling to the Evangelical Free Church of America’s biennial conference at Fullerton E-Free Church where well-known pastor Chuck Swindoll ministered for several decades.

Occasionally, I meet someone, who, upon learning my name, says, “Oh, you’re the guy that writes that column.” For the record, this only happens locally since my column is not syndicated, but I am nonetheless thrilled to meet anyone who reads it.

For almost four hours, the line of people stretched around the walls of the enormous church foyer then curled around a corner and extended back into the church’s sanctuary. Hundreds of people had come that evening to pay their last respects to my wife’s brother, Dave, a testament to a life well lived by a man well-loved.

“He’s going home,” we both pronounced with confidence. My wife and I have been binge-watching the History Channel’s reality show “Forged in Fire.” After watching an entire season’s worth of shows, we noticed a trend: the contestant who boasts the most in their introductory clip tends to be the first one eliminated. The moment a contestant begins his boast, we make our pronouncement. We are correct more times than not.

“God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” Those words of Scripture were of particular assurance for my wife and me as we made the long drive home from Indianapolis after having laid her brother to rest.

A much-loved feature of the home we rent is that it is nestled among trees of various kinds. The southern property line is bordered by aromatic pine woods whose limbs reach across the fence to commune with a robust magnolia and a towering pine.

Recently, I had a rich experience that was pure joy for me. I was invited to play in a band assembled for a one-time concert of soul music. The concert was part of a weekend event designed to raise funds for an inner-city ministry in New Orleans whose goal is to create a safe neighborhood where kids can ride their bikes safely.