Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Here we are, two weeks into 2022, and it still feels weird to me. “It” is ambiguous both in that first sentence and in my head. It certainly refers to 2022, the year itself. How in the name of creeping chronometers did we get to this ... point, point, point, point, point? Well, that’s how. A split second and a clock-click, a pendulum-swing and a heartbeat at a time. Time’s faucet drip, drip, drips. Each drip, no big splash. Barely noticed. Until, one day, treading water (...
The calendar says it’s now 2022. My various electronic devices all agree with that opinion. What? You say that it’s a fact, actual reality, and not just an opinion? Wow, your thinking is hopelessly dated, by which I mean, out-dated. In the very advanced — one might say, progressive, enlightened, and “woke” society — objective reality is yesterday’s thinking; reality now is almost completely dependent upon how you feel about “your” reality. Yes, pilgrim, you, too, can now own...
The Grand Miracle. That’s how C. S. Lewis described the Son of God coming “in the flesh” at Bethlehem. And he writes, “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation.” If anyone had asked me, I might at first have been inclined to say that the “central miracle” is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, his atonement for our sins, and his glorious Resurrection. And it certainly would be hard to over-estimate the centrality of those events. The message of the apostles...
We want it to be perfect, you know. Christmas, I mean. We really do. Something deep within us wants the lights and the trees, the music and the gifts, the family gatherings and candle-lit worship — all of it — to be Christmas-card perfect. Do I claim to be an exception? No, I do not. Truth be told, though, it’s not so much that I hope each new Christmas will be more beautiful than the last, I just want to do a better job each year enjoying the beauty and joy, savoring each mom...
I don't know about you; I used to really enjoy celebrating the Fourth of July. But then somebody told me the truth about it. Somebody who really knows (probably like sore losers on both ends of the political spectrum who “know” that our last two presidential elections were stolen; nefarious Russian “collusion” or magic vote-tampering, take your pick — anything but the more boring truth that the two losers ran rotten campaigns) has figured out the truth. About the Fourth of Jul...
I guess I’d better confess. Before I do, may I just say that I thought I could live with the guilt? I tried to convince myself that the transgression was not particularly serious. But now I feel unfaithful. I feel dirty. Like I need a shower. It was Monday afternoon. I’m never at my best on Mondays. I was tired. I was out of town. Temptation is always harder to resist when you’re weary and miles from home. Those are, of course, poor excuses. Want more? I’ve got plenty....
Here’s a modernized hymn for Thanksgiving (with apologies to Johnson Oatman, Jr., whose over-a-century-old lyrics I’ve messed with): Count your many blessings; Name them one by one! Giving thanks for all good things, To whom it may concern. As most of you know, the first two lines are the originals; mine are the last two. I like Oatman’s original words much better. (He wrote lyrics for over 5,000 Gospel songs.) But, as Thanksgiving approaches, I’ve been thinking also of some...
A brand new washer and dryer. That’s what, as the fervor and devotion of 46 years of marital bliss burst into full flower, radiant color, and indescribable beauty — such that it could no longer be contained but must be expressed in utter extravagance and proclaimed anew — I recently bought for my wife. May I hasten to say that I have not shackled my soul-mate to any laundry-room mechanisms. She is absolutely free and completely liberated. If you know us, you know that my wi...
When is a win not a win? If we don’t care how we win, we won’t ask the question. If a W is a W is a W, and we don’t care how it finds its way into our life’s “win-loss” column, the question above is nonsensical, not worth the breath it takes to be uttered. A coach, at any level, can win an incredible number of games and still be a loser if he/she cheats to do it. Those Ws won’t mean anything. At least, not anything good. If he turns a blind eye to deplorable conduct by hi...
I’m about to send $20 as a donation to my granddaughter’s volleyball team. I just thought you’d want to know. I don’t know why you’d want to know, but evidently people are interested in these kinds of things. Just so you’ll know, I am also wearing sandals as I am writing this (at home) rather than my other footwear alternatives. Don’t worry. I’ll let you know the moment I change shoes later, lest you be left wondering. Are you thinking that I’ve had some sort of brain ble...
I’ve just had another cell phone stolen. It’s not really a big deal; it happens at least once a day. I think the thief who keeps stealing it is one guy working alone. I have no idea why he is so persistent and why he bears me such ill will. To be accurate, the miscreant is not actually a thief; he’s more of a prankster. Yes, he does take my cell phone, but he just hides it, moves it, buries it, and seems to take pleasure in wasting my time and driving me nuts as I try to fi...
I wonder what they were fussing about. Before I pondered the possibilities, I began wondering if that first sentence needed to end with a question mark. Come to think of it, same question regarding the one I just wrote. I’d answer, no and no. Both of my questions are technically “indirect questions” which, punctuation-wise, are more akin to statements than to questions. No question marks. As an English major, editor, and sometime copy-editor, I easily fall prey to “anal...
I confess. I just committed three killings, and I enjoyed each one. Even as I write, I’m planning another. Maybe more. (Update: Yes, now four. Make that five.) It’s barely 10 a.m. Murder and mayhem before lunch. And I’m still far short of Friday’s serial killing count: almost 100 shot and killed while I was grilling burgers. When I stop to think about it, I have to admit the creatures I delight in killing are as amazing as they are disgusting. Their design is utterly incredi...
“Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.” So writes the wise old Scottish preacher and author George MacDonald. It’s true, isn’t it? Our Father tells us that happiness lies in learning to be content with what we have, whether we have a little or a lot. He tells us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), and “all these things” — thi...
I've never considered myself to be much of a prophet — not in the popular sense of the word. If you read the Bible books that bear the names of the prophets of old, you'll find, as my Old Testament professor was fond of saying, “The Old Testament prophets were more 'forth-tellers' than foretellers.” Yes, indeed, some amazing foretelling, by God's power, is certainly there. But much more involved was “forth-telling,” proclaiming whatever message God gave them to preach, a...
“Be still, and know that I am God!” says our Father through the psalmist’s words in Psalm 46. And he continues, “I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world” (46:10). As usual, I love the way Eugene Peterson captures the feel of this in his Bible paraphrase The Message: “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” If I’m never still, I’m never fully honoring God as God; I’m trying t...
It’s so good to be back. I’m sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of the Red River Community House, Red River, New Mexico. It’s a Sunday evening, Labor Day weekend. This morning I sang and preached at the RRCH. Usually we’d do a concert in the afternoon, but COVID-19 resurgence concerns made that probably unwise this year. I’m just glad to be back at all. No surprise, Labor Day weekend 2020 was pretty much completely canceled. I’ve tried to look back a bit. If my...
My good friend Darrell Bledsoe, whose list of incredible accomplishments as a music producer, musician, choral director, songwriter, arranger (and the list could go on) is more than impressive, was my friend before he was the producer of my own four albums of music. Early on in our really enjoyable journey together, as we were beginning work on the first album, Darrell smiled and said, “Curtis, I’ll have a lot of suggestions along the way in this project, but I’ll alway...
What does it mean when you lose your smile? I once heard a “face reader,” a fellow who works with jury consultants, businesses (hiring personnel), and large corporations say that 40% of our facial “terrain” is inherited, but 60% is what we've unconsciously made of it. He and his colleagues claim to be able to tell a fair amount about personalities and character traits by “reading” faces. Oh, I know. Part of this sounds a little hokey. But I figure there's also something r...
I’m back in the saddle again. Sometime during the COVID-19 pandemic (first edition, 2020), once we got back to in-person worship at our church, I started singing a “special” song each morning as sort of a “call to worship.” Last Sunday, I found the “saddle song” quite tempting (but no). As I mentioned in my last column, even though we’d taken prudent precautions, my wife and I managed to jump the line and get in right at the first of the COVID-19 (delta variant) editio...
The past week or two have been, for my wife and me, surreal. Having done everything we prudently could do not to contract COVID-19, we managed to welcome the little beastie aboard. Delta variant. Nasty guest. “Prudence,” I think, involves a needle times two (and, if a booster, Needle #3, is offered, yes, please, ASAP!). I’m glad most of my friends are happily inoculated. I love deeply more than a few who have chosen differently. I wish they’d reconsider. I’m happier when my m...
Editor’s note: Curtis Shelburne is taking a brief vacation from column writing. This is from 2016, but still seems relevant today. “Honey, if you’re going to the store, would you pick up ...” asks my wife. Well, first of all, I try to avoid going to the store. I’m not good at it. And I’m easily distracted. I see prices on the rise, and I’m suspicious. It may be low on the sights of conspiracy theorists (and Andy Rooney isn’t around to expose this), but have you noticed how...
“At (the age of) 50,” writes George Orwell, “everyone has the face he deserves.” Well, that kinda hurts, largely because I suspect it’s true. Not that long ago, I happened to rush past a mirror at church, shot it a quick glance, and then almost broke my neck in the subsequent double-take. Somebody else was looking back from that mirror. I might not have been particularly surprised to see one of my brothers staring back. A couple of us have been told many times that we look a...
Question: What is the proper attire for a person attending a mask-burning event? Answer: a smile. I laughed when I learned that our local senior citizens’ center was hosting a “mask-burning” a few weeks ago. It was partly “tongue in cheek.” Ditching your mask is very helpful if you’d like folks to know that your tongue is in your cheek. Those good folks really weren’t engaging in civil disobedience, thumbing their noses, or extending lengthy middle fingers toward anyone...
Some things never change. Most things, in fact. “In times like these,” said one wise man, “it helps to remember that there have always been times like these.” Yes, and people, too. While no one is absolutely one or the other, people here will always be by default basically cold people or warm people, institution people or “people” people, and, at heart, grace people or “law” people. I remember a Bible study at our church when we found ourselves discussing Jesus' “Parable...
