by bob | Nov 13, 2021 | Culture
The Irish Times published an article today, and I want to share a couple of thoughts. The story is entitled: Other countries yearn for the good old days. Not Ireland. I grew up in Western NY, frequently hearing a lament for the “good old days”. Where I lived, life... 
by bob | Apr 1, 2020 | Ministry & Mission
Last weekend, during a family video chat, one of my daughters said something that I have not been able to get out of my head. While we are in Ireland, my parents are in the US, and one of our daughters is in Scotland. And as you might imagine, Covid-19 was a... 
by bob | Sep 19, 2019 | Culture
Certain words overtime become less and less useful. There has been a great deal of discussion around the word “Evangelical” in Ireland and in the US as many think of it referring a certain brand of politics than a certain type of Jesus follower. Missions is another of... by bob | Jun 15, 2019 | Faith & Jesus
Liz and I have each had two interesting chats of late that give an interesting picture of religion in Ireland. Conversation One: About 3-weeks ago, we were at Friday Cricket Club with Méabh. Many families from Clontarf and especially Méabh’s school attend. Well, that... by bob | Dec 15, 2018 | Music | Sports | Pop Culture
I was chatting with one of our ministry partners last week. He said he’d love to hear about some of the differences between Christmas in Ireland and the US. My perspective of Christmas traditions is limited. In the US, I am only familiar with how we celebrated... 
by bob | Mar 19, 2014 | Culture
Over the past 20 months, I’ve thought about writing out a list of things to do before and during a visit from the US to Ireland. It would include things like preparing for the sticker shock you will encounter when you rent a car. I’d include the confusion you’ll... by bob | Oct 19, 2012 | Books
As someone who is spending much of this next year trying to learn about all things Ireland, I found Irish Times columnist John Waters’ new book, Was It For This? Why Ireland Lost the Plot, a fascinating read. While he deals with Ireland over the past 100+ years,... by bob | Sep 20, 2012 | Random & Craic
It is a random kind of day. Our first guests from NY are here visiting us this week. It’s been great to catch up, show them around the city, and just hang out. Heading up t the Giant’s Causeway tomorrow if all goes according to plan. Got a library card today. And... by bob | Aug 7, 2011 | Ministry & Mission
This morning we shared with our church family something that God has been working on in our family’s hearts over the past several months. We sent a letter out to our church earlier this week explaining some of the details, and this morning shared the news that... by bob | May 28, 2010 | Random & Craic
Well, it’s that time of the week. Within the next 2 hours I’ll be shutting down the computer, email etc, and starting Sabbath with the family. So as we head into the weekend, I thought I’d take a few minutes & get all of the stuff that is...