Archive for the ‘Christianity’ category
June 17, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 17, 2015
Currently, there are 16 people who have announced that they are candidates in the running for the 2016 Presidential race. Why so many?
Let me step back for a moment. Why would anyone want to be President? On most of the decisions half the country isn’t with you, and the half that are with you are at risk of jumping ship any moment…depending on how your decision affects them. Why would anyone want to be in that position?
Don’t get me wrong. There have been many good presidents in the history of our country, but most of the time they aren’t recognized for effective they were until years after they left office. Rarely has a president been recognized for right decisions while in office! that would mean that the rival party would have to give credit, and how would that look when the next election came around?
It still begs the question that is on my mind…why are there so many people running? The answers to that question range from practical to an inflated level of self-confidence. Some are running because they are getting their name out there for 2020. They don’t expect to win in 2016, but perhaps people will take notice of them for four years on down the road. My guess is that most of those reading this post will find it difficult to remember even half of the candidates who have declared, let alone the two others who have formed “exploratory committees.”
Some of the candidates will fall by the wayside in a few months when they realize that their is no steam in the engine. But others will stay the course too long because they either feel called to run, have never started something they didn’t finish, are being urged by their constituents to stay the course, or they are simply full of themselves.
Self-confidence needs to be a quality of the president, but not so self-assured to the point that the person doesn’t think their bodily discharges don’t stink…if you get my drift!
If I start believing I can personally fly, and keep telling myself that, at some point the reality of my earthboundness is going to come into play in a crashing sort of way.
What should we look for in a president? Some may crucify me for this, but I’m looking for just a few things. The wisdom of Solomon…the patience of Job…the strength of Joshua…the prayerfulness of Daniel…the ability to listen like David…the grace of Paul…the faith of Abraham…and the willingness to say “I’m wrong” like the prodigal son.
I know that I just listed eight men in those qualities, but gender if not an issue for me. the candidate I vote for will not be on the basis of a gender, although I know a lot of people would make their decision on that basis.
I simply go back to the question again: why would anyone want to be president?
“Somebody has to be” may be the best reason!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, Nation, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: 2016 Presidential Campaign, campaigning, Candidates, decision-making, Donald Trump, exploratory committee, good presidents, President, presidential campaign, presidential qualities, running for office, self-assurance, self-confidence
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June 15, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 15, 2015
Today was the first day of our Vacation Bible School. I was running gym time, well stocked with balloons, bubble blowing attire, ping-pong balls, and long styrofoam noodles. Six different groups divided across four age groupings!
What an amazing time it was! Giggly girls…confused boys…little ones with runny noses…and a few pre-teens and teens who weren’t too sure about an early morning wake-up call on a summer vacation Monday!
Give a four year old a balloon in the midst of a big gym and watch the fun! And I was having fun with them!
“All right! See who can keep their balloon in the air… without holding it!!!!…all the way to the other end of the gym! Ready…set…go!”
What is it about a balloon that makes a four year old squeal as he or she plays with it?
“Who thinks they can make their balloon go all the way to the other end by just using your foot? Raise your hand! Raise your hand!”
A flock of hands go waving in the air like sunflowers in an open field.
“Ready…set…go!”
The squealing gets mixed with giggling as the non-competitive race begins.
Fifteen minutes of balloon fun!
And then the two’s and three’s attack the gym! I’m ready with the bottles of bubbles and the bubble wand. In fact, I instantly create a new character called the “Bubblemaster!”
“Okay! Follow the Bubblemaster and see who can catch the bubbles!”
With this group I have to be careful because they do not realize that my size eleven’s can step on them. One cute two-year old boy comes up to me and with a very serious face gives me a heartfelt message.
I have no clue what he said, so I just shake my head and try to look understanding and compassionate.
A little girl puts down her balloon for a moment to look at a boo-boo she got two weeks ago on her knee. A little boy swoops in like an eagle on prey and snatches up the loose balloon. Thus, a lesson to two year olds needs to be instantly taught about sharing and fairness!
By the time the pre-schoolers leave my head is almost as light-headed as one of the balloons!
But I love it! Maybe because I’m just a kid with XL clothing on, or because they have such interesting developing personalities.
Or maybe because I see Jesus in each one of their faces, a treasure, a jewel, a blessing about toi be given…to me!
Tomorrow should be just as fun! The kids are excited, I’m excited, and the giant squishy ball is about to be unleashed!
Awesome!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Grace, Humor, Jesus, love, Parenting, Pastor, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: balloon games, bubble blowing, bubble master, four year olds, games, giggling, laughing, playing with balloons, pre-schoolers, squealing, vacation bible school, VBS
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June 15, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 14, 2015
I’m convinced every Sunday afternoon that God knew what he was doing when he called for a day of rest. Of course, as a pastor “Sunday rest” is somewhat of a “qualified term.” Some Sundays I see a few people in their sanctuary seats who have gotten a head start on me…nap, that is!
When I get home Sunday afternoon I become a cranky old codger if I’m not allowed to lay my head on the pillow. Usually I take a book, open it to whatever page I’m on, and get anywhere from ten pages to two paragraphs read before I’m snoring like a kid with tonsil problems!
Some Sundays all I need is about 20 minutes. Other Sundays I’m dead to the world for a couple of hours.
Naps are gifts from God! Rest is undervalued by our culture. Some people rest at the wrong times…like at their place of employment, so they can be rested to be active after work. Some people treat rest like it’s poison ivy. Keep it away!
I don’t know if it’s my profession or my age…or both…but I am extremely thankful God created a Sunday afternoon 2 P.M. I was I still subject to parental discipline I might act out around that time so I could be disciplined with a time-out in my room.
We live in a tired world. A healthy life is like a swinging pendulum that goes back and forth between work and rest, or work and play. That’s right, play can be restful. One thing that my grandkids do is say to me “Granddad, tell us a story…using our feet!” They plop their two pairs of feet across my lap and giggle with glee as I make up a story that uses their toes as props. Those moments of storied play bring a chuckle to my spirit when I’m dealing with stress.
Restful play and playful rest. Very few people get to the end of a week and wish they could have worked more, but a lot of tired folk get to the end of a week and wish they could have relaxed more.
I’ve decided that Sunday afternoon naps are so good I usually do a sequel on Monday. Not as long, but re-energizing. I used to feel guilty about that. Not any more! Pardon the pun, but I’ve given the guilt a rest!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Freedom, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: all work and no play, Job, napping, naps, playful rest, rest, restful play, storytelling, Sunday afternoon nap, thankful, Work, working
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June 12, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 11, 2015
I’ve been consulting with a great mission organization located here in Colorado Springs called Reach Beyond. Reach Beyond is passionate about sharing the words of hope spoken by Jesus, known as the gospel. They minister around the world in numerous cultures, many that are not accepting of the Christian faith or representatives of that faith.
At our of last recent meetings we were gathered in the conference room discussing a new curriculum that the organization is creating that seeks to motivate people to share their faith. Around the room attached to the walls there were about twenty quotes on mini-posters from missionaries, leaders, and pastors from the past and present about the Great Commission and the urgency of sharing the good news of Jesus.
As our discussion got more excited, however, one of the mini-posters, a quote from Oswald Chambers, suddenly fell off the wall and hit the floor just a slight thud. Jim Elliott followed closely behind. By the end of our meeting four quotes from missionaries or key Christian leaders from the past and present had taken a plunge to the carpeted floor beneath them.
The eight of us who were meeting in the conference room didn’t take it as a sign from God to forget being mission-minded. Instead we saw it as a visual illustration of what has happened to missions in general.
The concern for missions…listen to this, listen…has dropped in many churches, but concern for missions not initiated by the church has seemed to increase. That is, there are more and more people who are not associated with a fellowship of believers who are becoming increasingly interested in missions.
How can that be? Easy! Churches are concerned with paying salaries, operating buildings, establishing programs and ministries…which are not bad things, mind you! Many churches give 10, 15, 20, 30% of their funds to missions. Others gives a token amount.
But many who are not a part of a church have the mindset of supporting missions with 100% of their gift.
There needs to be a happy middle ground in there. Sometimes church ministries and their effect get taken for granted, and missions get forgotten. Jesus commanded his disciples that as they were going to make disciples, and then in Acts 1:8 he said to be his witnesses close to home, in the vicinity, and all over (my paraphrase). We can become location minded in an imbalanced way. What goes on inside the walls of a church building or the living room of a house church is just as important as the mission couple who are being witnesses in the midst of a Japanese culture or West African mission hospital.
When there is imbalance the missionaries fall and the churches falter. It’s a partnership that often gets screwed up.
Jim Elliott got put back on the wall more firmly…more firmly supported…and stayed there the rest of our meeting. Sometimes you just have to hammer the point home a little more for it to stick!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Jesus, love, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Jim Elliott, mission support, missions, Oswald Chambers. giving
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June 10, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 10, 2015
I wrote recently about a young lady who I had coached basketball for three years in high school passing away at the age of twenty.
Ever since hearing of her death I’ve been haunted…that’s the best word I can come up with…haunted by the absence of a word!
“A word” is not necessarily meant to be a literal term. It could be a few words… or one comment… or one encouragement…or one probing question. Just one thing that might have helped her define her life direction, her purpose, the potential of her vibrant spirit.
There have been other people who I’ve said things to, though unaware of it at the time, who have come back to me later and told me the effect of my words. I’ve written things that touched people in profound ways that I had no clue about.
And so it haunts me to know that this young woman could not latch on to something that I taught her, or I could not find that one word to guide her, years later, through rough waters.
Knowing the ache in my heart, I can’t imagine the aching fatigue in the lives of her family members.
One word! I think back over my life and the “one words” that have helped me get on track. My Uncle George taking me into the bedroom of my grandparents’ house in Oil Springs, Kentucky and giving me his “one word” after I came home from my first quarter of college with a GPA of “.533!” That’s right…the decimal point is to the left of the first number greater than “0”!
I remember Jerry Heslinga, our associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Ironton, Ohio giving me his “one word” that helped me stay the course in seminary.
I’m thankful for the “one word” that Gene Gilbert has for me on Sunday mornings when he lays a hand on my shoulder before worship and says a prayer for me.
And the “one word” that Rev. Chuck Landon imparted to me as I was floundering in the pool of pastoring. His “one word” was like a lifeline that kept me afloat.
I think of the “one word” of my coaching mentor, Don Fackler. Every time I hear, or say, “discombobulated” …which, believe it or not, is quite often, I see his bespectacled face.
And I think of my closest friend in ministry, Tom Bayes, and the defining conversations we would have. Sometimes I would be in the depths of despair and Tom would lift my spirits, and at other times when I had whacky thoughts he would ask a question to help me right the ship.
“One word” people have been instrumental in my life.
That knowledge makes it that much more difficult for me to know that I didn’t have that “one word” for this lady. In times like these I’m not sure there is a silver lining. Perhaps it will cause me to be more mindful of what I say and don’t say. Perhaps I’ll treasure the relationships I have even more.
The ache in my spirit has not lessened since last Friday. Perhaps that’s a good thing!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Death, Faith, Grace, Jesus, love, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: aching, coping, dying, Encouragement, encouraging words, grief, grieving, guiding, heartache, help, helping, loss, pain, painful
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June 8, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 8, 2015
I’ve recently written quite a bit about loss…losing people close to me who have gone on to glory. Believe me! I don’t want to write about the process of grieving for the rest of my life, but I had two experiences yesterday that have profoundly affected me.
It began with “the missing!” A dear man and his wife, 94 and 91 in age, were missing from their usual spots in worship yesterday morning. Rex helps take the offering each Sunday morning and always squeezes my finger when I put my offering envelope in the plate. He looks at me and says “I’m praying for you”, and then he gives me a wink. It’s an important moment of the morning for me…but he wasn’t there.
He’s been battling a form of cancer, running a race against old age…and the age is catching up to him. He is a dear committed man of God and serving husband to his wife, Ann.
I called him Sunday afternoon and asked if I could bring our group of young men by to pray with him and his wife, Ann, that evening.
“Well…that would be great, Pastor Bill! Yes…I think that would be all right!”
So we went, six of us, spent time with them, heard about his “miracle malts” that his granddaughter was bringing to him that seemed to make him feel better, and then we stood with them in a circle and prayed.
Each one of us felt a bit of heartache knowing that this couple were in the midst of daily struggles to just keep going. The weariness of their bodies was now dictating what could be done and what had to be surrendered. Things that we took for granted were now only maybes for the two of them.
But we were also blessed by simply being with them, holding hands with them and praying, listening to their stories told with wit and humor. They were so thankful that we had come, but we were even more thankful that we had been there.
After we prayed and hugged on them for a while we got in our vehicles and headed down the street to the ice cream place, BJ’s Velvet Freeze, and we all ordered malts!
Right before I had gone to be blessed by this pair of ninety somethings I became aware of another kind of heartache. I young lady I had coached for three years in basketball died. Twenty years old, full of potential and primed for life…suddenly gone. I was numbed by the news. On the wall behind me in my study is a team picture from her freshman year where she is standing just behind my right shoulder, in the midst of her teammates, looking happy and almost giggly. That was one of the sweetest, most fun groups of girls I’ve ever coached. They finished 13-5 and beat an undefeated Doherty team in the last game of the regular season…a group of Doherty girls that had not lost since they started playing together in 6th grade.
And this young lady was a vital part of the team, but more than that, she was just a delight to coach that year.
And now her light had faded out!
That same sense of heartache that I experienced as I sat with Rex and Ann I also experienced as I processed the news of the death of this young woman, but this time it was tagged together with helplessness. I wished I could have said something to her to change the course of her ship, to let the wind be in her sails again. I wish I could go back to her freshman year and be blessed once again by the giggling and the solidity of those relationships amongst teammates. I wish I could rewind and know that I could say one thing that I hadn’t said before that would result in June 5, 2015 being different…being a day of celebration and fulfilled promise instead of grief and deep, deep sorrow!
A strange day of lives that have been long, purposeful, and fulfilling…and a life that had barely started…and I can’t stop thinking about it!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Death, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Humor, Jesus, love, marriage, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: age, basketball coach, being blessed, blessed, coaching, coping, grief, grieving, heartache, helpless, loss, malts, ninety year olds, Old age, praying, sudden death
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June 7, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 7, 2015
From the time I was eight years old I’ve been a part of American Baptist Churches. Before that time my family went to a Southern Baptist church in Winchester, Kentucky (Central Baptist Church with Pastor Zachary). We switched to American Baptist because we moved from Winchester to Williamstown, West Virginia, and the Baptist church in town was First Baptist Church with ties to the ABC.
That’s my pilgrimage! No doctrinal differences that sent us scurrying for safety. No questioning of our salvation, or limited program opportunities…just one town with one Baptist church. I was at an age where I didn’t understand what a Nazarene was…and the only things I knew about Methodists were that the Boy Scouts met there and that they didn’t meet as often as we did at the Baptist church. They didn’t even have a Sunday night service, which I thought was the eleventh commandment!
I grew up, moved to Zanesville, Ohio, and then to Ironton, Ohio. The First Baptist Churches in those communities were also American Baptist-related. And that’s how I became entrenched in my denomination.
All that to say that in less than three weeks when my denomination has their biennial convention in Overland Park, Kansas I won’t be there! It isn’t a protest because of some issue they will be debating. It’s just a matter of church budget constraints. I didn’t even ask for the biennial convention to be a line item in our 2015 budget. If we are committed to sending mission dollars to various parts of the world I just couldn’t see asking for a thousand dollars to send one pastor to four days of meetings.
I’m not disgruntled or embittered. I’m just…conservative!
And I’m probably not alone. I’m sure there are plenty of other pastors of small and medium-sized congregations who can’t justify the expense as well. A few years ago I made a suggestion about simulcasting the biennial to various places around the country and world. The concern was that we would lose the “community feeling” of the biennial, those face-to-face conversations with people we know or missionaries who are available or region executive ministers being able to meet with “new blood” potential pastors.
I still was not convinced that the cost of bringing a couple thousand people together from around the country and abroad was worth the expense. The last biennial I attended was in Richmond, Virginia eight years ago.
And so I will miss this one! I’ll miss reconnecting with ministry friends such as Tom and Diane Bayes…and Bret Truax…and Ed Owens. I’ll also miss the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board luncheon, and some great speakers, and the freebies that I’ll keep for memories.
But I’ll survive…and our denomination will go on.
Sometimes you just can’t do everything, and a person needs to decide what it is he/she can do. What is financially responsible? What is good time management? What makes sense?
Categories: Christianity, Community, Faith, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: ABC, American Baptist Biennial Conventio, American Baptist Churches, biennial, church meetings, denominational meetings, fellowship, Kansas, Overland Park, Richmond, Virginia
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June 7, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 6, 2015
A few weeks ago (April 22), I wrote a blog post about a special lady, Ruth Kennedy, who was celebrating her 96th birthday. That post was entitled “The Saints Who Go Before Us”. Ruth Kennedy passed away yesterday.
One granddaughter posted a few pictures on Facebook of some of Ruth’s final days with family. I got somewhat emotional looking at them as I remembered what a great lady she had been during my growing up years.
My life recently has been crocheted with loss. My Aunt Cynthia passed away about three of weeks ago. She would have been 93 on May 22. “Aunt Cynthy” always made me smile, especially as she handed me a rolled-up five dollar bill and told me not to tell anyone. She had a down-home wit and humor about her that I will always remember. Visits to her house were punctuated by eating! A few years ago she looked at me and said, “Billy Dean, you’re looking (pause)…a little manly!” That was Aunt Cynthia’s way of saying I had put some weight on. I think she offered me a piece of apple pie and ice cream right after that!
This past week my dad has been in the hospital back in Huntington, West Virginia. Being in Colorado is hard during these times. Writing about Dad, Aunt Cynthy, and Ruth Kennedy are a way that I cope with loss and absence.
It’s how I deal with having to say goodbye to some good friends over the years as well. Most are still on this side of glory, but separated from me by distance and schedules.
We lose people in different ways throughout the journey. Hopefully it causes us to value each relationship…each conversation…each piece of pie lovingly cut…each moment shared even more.
Aunt Cynthy and Ruth Kennedy have passed on to their eternal rewards, experiences of a precision choir of hallelujah praises. My Dad, closing in on 87, isn’t far behind. I’ve been blessed by all. May I be a blessing to just as many!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Death, Faith, love, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Aunt Cynthia, aunts, aunts and uncles, blessed, family, impactful people, Ruth Kennedy, Saints. manly looking, uncles
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June 5, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 5, 2015
Recently I watched a DVD that brought to the surface the breakdown of a community in a major metropolitan area of our nation. The deterioration didn’t happen overnight, but rather over a period of twenty years or so. One of the fractures that rose to the surface was the breakdown in the family system. Absentee fathers…parents not investing into their kids lives, sometimes because they were working two jobs to make ends meet…gangs moving into the area to fill the void in young men’s lives that needed some kind of family.
Another fracture was caused by people becoming more concerned with themselves than those who lived in their community. A hint of self-preservation gradually grew to become the odor of selfish ambition. Suspicions grew about people’s agendas. Gang activity resulted in residents being protective of the few things they had. “My brother’s keeper” became non-existent as people felt community concern for their well-being decreased.
Survival defined the environment instead of living life.
The DVD showed how the community was gradually saved…emotionally, economically, relationally, and spiritually…but it was a long journey on a pothole-filled road. It showed one church’s commitment to the high school in that community that changed the lives of students, their families, but also volunteers from the church. A community was resurrected!
And it all came back to that denying oneself to build a safe community for others. What a concept!
Jesus once said some pretty challenging words. He said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23, NIV)
A little while later after he had experienced death and then resurrection he told is disciples to go into all the world making disciples of all nations, baptizing, and teaching them. It seems that following Jesus is about the person stepping off the throne, risking oneself, and loving others. Building community involves some people who are willing to pick up some crosses.
This afternoon I went by the elementary school close to our church that we partner with. The principal had approached me a couple of weeks ago about getting together and strategizing about our partnership next year. Today we set up the appointment and I gave her that DVD to watch before we meet.
It takes more than a community to raise a child. It takes people who would rather share half of their sandwich at lunchtime with a hungry kid than eating the whole thing. It takes vision to see the imbalance and ears to hear the impoverished. It takes a hand to comfort and feet to go the distance.
And, quite honestly, not many people are willing to be that!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, love, Nation, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: building community, church-school partnership, community concern, denying oneself, gang activity, helping one another, loving others, Mission, self-centered, self-focused, selfish, selfish ambition, survival
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June 5, 2015
WORDS FROM W.W. June 4, 2015
It was ingenious of Jesus to call normal guys to be his first disciples. Talk about your average Joe’s! Average might actually be a compliment. Jesus started a movement with men who were mediocre fishermen.
Why was it ingenious? Because more prominent men with bulging egos might have thought they were responsible for changing the world. Sometimes talented people let their talent get in the way of the workings of God.
In my years as a pastor I’ve seen spiritual movements begun as a result of a few inspiring words by the most unlikely of people. At a homiletics conference I was recently at one of the things that was said by a keynote speaker resonated with me. He made the point that we (preachers) all know how to create a sermon. The difference is whether our preparation of that sermon is immersed in prayer. Prayer takes it out of the hands of control freaky pastors, and places it back with the One who gives us the words.
And once again it comes back to talented people letting their eloquence get in the way of the workings of the Holy Spirit.
I believe there is a battle going on in “church world” these days. The gospel gets treated too many times like it is a product that needs to be wrapped in attractive packaging so people will buy it. Jesus gets portrayed as “way cool.” We become so determined to make the church look relevant that we risk inventing a gospel of outer looks and appearance instead of a gospel that changes hearts.
Now that I’ve entered into my sixty-first year on this earth I’m fairly certain that I’m an average pastor who seeks to serve the Lord the best he can. I’m not way cool…I don’t even use hair gel! The closest I am to cool is driving a 2008 Civic Hybrid. I’m just an average Joe…like James and Thomas, Philip and Andrew…nothing really special about me. I brush with Colgate and say certain words funny. I’ve been called to be a pastor who serves a church filled with great people who will not be in Time magazine, and almost all of them will never even be in the local newspaper. We have a desire to serve the Lord by serving the community around us. It’s a picture of average fueled by hope.
And I’m okay with that!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, love, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: average, average Joe's, church world, ego, homiletics, Normal, Preaching
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Words from WW Blog 