Author: lyftingmeup

In 1953 my grandparents Paul and Opal, took a four year old Me on a very memorable road trip.  They came down from Colorado Springs to pick me up on a tour through Colorado.  The first stop was at a town I vividly remember by its smell, Pagosa Springs.  The natural mineral hot springs put out a distinctive “rotten egg” sulphur aroma that indelibly left its imprint on my olfactory memory.  This week the moment I pulled into Pagosa Springs the file was opened into 67 years of numerous visits in this most special 7345’ mountain valley, tucked on the…

It was a Colorado spectacular last Sunday of October in 1998. There was a buzz on at the church, and we were headed after worship to a Bronco game.  Mary Kay got a phone call from her brother Dan.  Her face fell, I knew something was wrong. “My Dad was hit by a car and he is in surgery”. He was making his usual Sunday rounds taking communion to ‘shut-ins’ and was one block from home when a truck came over a hill way too fast and broadsided Joe.  We gave our Bronco tickets to our daughter Amy and headed…

Last Wednesday we drove to Colorado Springs to have a life time friend do our taxes. South of Castle Rock, a red warning light came up on my dash— YOUR TRANSMISSION IS OVERHEATING SLOW DOWN. This is sort of like getting an almost flat tire while driving to Dental 911. We feathered the car in to The Springs, the light went off and we got our taxes done. Now to deal with a sick car. Red was a 2014 Outlander Sport with 161,455 miles on it. This car has been a supporting actor in this blog. Nearly 9,000 different people…

In 1955 my parents built a home in Belmont. It was in the middle of a long block at the top of a spacious hill, on Alexander Circle. I can still remember moving in and the smell of brand new everything. It was a two story ‘Cape Cod’ house that became the ‘hub of the wheel’ for fifty years of Pumphreys and innumerable folk who were welcomed with the gift of hospitality. The backyard of our house faced East. You could see all the way to Kansas (almost). It was what we called The Prairie, which was a dream playground…

This Monday is June 15th. It was 43 years ago that I found myself experiencing a paradox that has shaped my faith since then.Molly— I was her chaplain at the Enid State School. At that point in history what was “normal” seems crude at best and inhuman at worst. She was one of 1000 residents who were “placed” in an institution. It’s official name was— and I share this to remind us how ignorance haunts us— “The Enid State School for the Mentally Retarded”. She was a ‘ward of the state’. She was born with spina bifida and was raised…

For me Memorial Day will always be May 30th.  It was good enough to work from 1868 until 1970.   Blame the change on those who cash in on three day weekends.  It started out as Decoration Day where Civil War veterans were honored.  Growing up in Colorado the Civil War was something that happened back there. About five years ago I visited Gettysburg and spent a day with a private guide.  It was there that I began to grasp the horrific realities of civil war.  Brother versus brother, with no real winners.  I fear today that the divisions we…

Until a couple of months, ago the word zoom was an onomatopoeia that I remember using to get my son Mateo to open his mouth. This happened while a spoonful of mashed green peas flew into the”hanger”. “Here comes the airplane Matt— Zzzzzzzoooooooommmmmm open the hatch”. Worked every time. I am not saying the peas stayed in but they went in. This past week I hosted a Zoom: Men’s Coffee, Staff Meeting, two Bible studies, a Leadership team, a Board Meeting, along with attending five 12-step meetings. All of the aforementioned on ZOOM. Today I went to my granddaughter Sophia’s…