Musings

By Sean Dietrich Eighteen years. That sounds like a long time, but it’s not. Not when you think about it. Eighteen years is nothing. It’s hard to believe that eighteen years ago we were just two ordinary people with two very different last names. It’s almost hard to conceive of a...

By Pastor Jeff Wade, The Rock of Panama City Beach Can you believe it? Christmas time is here again. How can it already be Christmas again, right? I believe that if you asked everyone collectively what their favorite holiday is, most would respond without even having to ponder it at...

By Sean Dietrich “When I was a kid, we didn’t have no Christmas tree,” said the waitress, placing a hamburger on the table before me. I was in North Georgia, in a restaurant attached to a gas station. My waitress’s name was Sharon. I know this because her name tag said...

By Pastor Jeff Wade, The Rock of Panama City Beach When it comes to writing monthly articles, the month of November is a no brainer right? THANKSGIVING!! They go hand in hand and I find it impossible to not speak to it today. Thanksgiving, after all, is one of my favorite holidays....

By Sean Dietrich I‘m sitting with my Methodist mother-in-law in the living room. We are replaying old memories like worn out records. There is a ballgame playing in the background. Braves are winning. She sits in her wheelchair, nursing a nightly glass of Metamucil. I am sitting in a fold-up rollator...

By Pastor Jeff Wade, The Rock of Panama City Beach I noticed that things are a little quieter around here today than usual. I just returned from a trip “into town” for a couple of things, something I wouldn’t have dared to do just even a month ago. I’m one...

By Sean Dietrich JOHN—My angel story takes place when my wife was dying, and I watched everything go downhill in a matter of months. And every night, I would hear a voice tell me “You can get through this, John.” On the night she died, I heard that voice again. And...

By Pastor Jeff Wade, The Rock of Panama City Beach One of the things I love about September is that it begins a seasonal change. Living in Panama City Beach, we all know there are still many hot days left ahead here on the beach, but like it or not,...

By Sean Dietrich Morning on an American interstate. A caravan of large bucket trucks travels southward. There must be a hundred of them. Maybe more. These are utility workers. Hurricane Ida plowed into Louisiana like a Peterbilt semi yesterday. These trucks are heading to ground zero to join the 25,000 other...

By Sean Dietrich Today at the store I watched a young guy hold the door open for a mother of three. He trotted ahead and threw open the door with a grand flourish as if to say, “After you, mademoiselle.” The woman stopped cold in her steps. She had a baby on...