Jeff Hampton – Page 122 – Jeff Hampton, Writer

September 10, 2019

Counting Syllables

For Wilshire Baptist Church

We were at SMU for a preview of “Country Music,” the new Ken Burns documentary series, and while we waited we heard the beautiful Emmylou Harris ballad, “Boulder to Birmingham.” I hadn’t thought about that song in years, and I went straight to Wikipedia on my phone and recalled that it was written by Harris and Bill Danoff. I know who he is because I’m a song lyric junkie, and you know him too if you’ve ever heard John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Danoff cowrote that song with his wife Taffy Nivert and with some final polishing from Denver before he recorded it.

September 3, 2019

Unfinished Business

For Wilshire Baptist Church

A few weeks ago I went out to trim some tree branches and pull some weeds. I was only going to work for an hour or so and ended up working four. I trimmed more branches than I planned because once you get the ladder and the lopper out and start trimming you start seeing more and more that you can do. And then I was going to pull a few weeds and ended up cleaning out a bed that went from the house to the property line. And I fired up the edger and whacked some weeds in the alley. Then I watered a bed that the sprinklers don’t quite reach, and while I had it in my hand, I used the hose and nozzle to zap a wasp nest hanging above a second story window.

After four hours I paused for a moment and saw so much more that I could do, but then the thought came to me: “I’m not stopping because I’m finished; I’m stopping because I’m tired.”

August 27, 2019

On Eagles’ Wings

For Wilshire Baptist Church

On Sunday morning we celebrated the great accomplishment of Blake Perry, who for his Eagle Scout project organized an effort to collect and distribute thousands of pieces of clothing and personal hygiene items for refugee children at the border who are being detained while their status is being determined. As has been said from the Wilshire pulpit and elsewhere, we can disagree about how people came here and who can stay, but everyone should be able to eat, be clothed and be healthy – especially the children. So, well done, Blake! Your project was timely, well planned and wonderfully carried out.