Many have commented on how busy we continue to be and question references to our current lifestyle as retirement. We are enjoying the journey and find idleness no attraction. Teaching college students this semester at Mississippi College and William Carey University is less demanding and more fulfilling than I had anticipated; teaching “Impact Your World” courses for pastors in South Mississippi and at our church on Wednesday nights are opportunities to simply communicate what has always been the passion of our lives.

Weekend engagements included preaching at Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo last week. We set the cruise control and enjoyed a leisure 3-hour drive up the Natchez Trace Parkway through farmland and woods, delighting in the redbuds and dogwoods …

When I was elected as president of the International Mission Board in 1993, Bobbye and I had been overseas for 23 years. We had been in leadership roles but knew nothing about administering a large, global missionary-sending organization. We had had no involvement in the denomination and suddenly found ourselves immersed in a fast-paced task of budgets, board oversight, formulating strategy and directing a staff of several hundred people.

I happened to meet Steve Shelton who had just stepped into the role of president of Wycliffe International, the largest para-church mission organization in the world, after serving many years in Brazil. In commiserating with one another over the challenges and the steep learning curve we were experiencing, we decided to …

Last week began with a trip to St. Louis where we had the privilege of participating in a Global Impact Celebration at First Baptist Church Arnold, speaking in four services on Sunday. These events are truly a blessing as we have opportunities to continue to challenge and mobilize churches as we have been doing for years in our former life. FBC Arnold truly gets it! They are involved around the world, including multiple strategic partnerships in India, Senegal and Mexico and give a high priority to giving generously to missions all year.

One of the greatest joys of involvement in mission events is staying connected with our missionaries from around the world. There were a number of personnel serving …

Being at home between two travel weeks always poses the dilemma of what to eat. Are there still leftovers in the refrigerator, does our schedule make it more convenient to eat out, or do we plan menus and stock up at the grocery store. Actually, eating is usually a combination of those options. Having acquainted our followers with various landmarks and attractions of our hometown in Mississippi, this week we decided to ishare our local culinary options.

When I worked for the daily newspaper in college, I always envied the food editor and restaurant critic. Can you imagine getting paid to dine at all the prominent restaurants, sample the menu and tell others about it? Any pretense of dieting and …

It is always an inspiring and uplifting experience when we travel periodically to South Carolina for a board meeting at Columbia International University or to confer with staff and attend other significant events. Being individuals that are rather one-dimensional and focused on our mission calling, we have found CIU to be a quality educational institution focused uniquely on biblical inerrancy, world evangelization and victorious Christian living. A large proportion of its 17,000 graduates have gone out as missionaries with alumni currently serving in 150 countries around the world.

Under the leadership of Dr. Bill Jones, president, CIU has reflected growth, reaching its second highest enrollment in its 90-year history this year. Facilities have expanded and been improved, an intercollegiate athletic …

We are still waiting for winter in Mississippi. Old-timers assure us that severe cold spells will come, but it is almost February and we have had only two nights in which the temperature has dipped below freezing. Good grief, it was up to 78 last week! I have been waiting for a hard freeze to do some winter planting and prune my crepe myrtles.

The daffodils I set out for spring, expecting them to bloom in early March, are already at full flower. Why did we put a fireplace in our house down South? We’ve turned the air conditioning on just so we could enjoy the ambience of a fire a few evenings. Does anyone want to buy a nice …

Anniversaries and birthdays are dated markers that reflect a lifetime of events and relationships. It is hard to believe that it was 46 years ago when Bobbye finished college at mid-year, and I returned to Mississippi from seminary to claim her as my bride. Already the love of my life, our shared passion to serve God on the mission field was only one of many attractions that drew me to Bobbye Simmons from Brookhaven, MS. The future of our calling together was launched during our wedding recessional as the BSU choir in the balcony of the church broke out with the chorus of O Zion Haste–”Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption and release,” something we …

No, I am not going back to school though I do have an insatiable thirst for learning and acquiring knowledge. I am amazed at those my age seeking to earn additional degrees later in life. I’m quite confident I could handle it, but I prefer more freedom and flexibility in my reading and learning experiences than the focused discipline required in school.

I have jumped into teaching MIN 305 in the Mississippi College spring semester, a course in the Christian Studies program on Missions and Evangelism. Interestingly, the classroom in Provine Hall is the one where I sat for Bible and Philosophy classes fifty years ago! Pictures of my professors, most of whom are now deceased, line the wall. That …

Hectic holidays are behind us with programs, socializing, and time with family. Decorations are packed away, and a New Year’s Day tradition is firmly established of hosting Bobbye’s family–sister, three nieces spouses and kids. It has been a delightful week of relaxing, planning, and watching bowl games. Unseasonable temperatures into the 70s have allowed us to get back into morning walks and an exercise routine we resolve to sustain in 2012.

We thought it would be of interest to our far-flung friends and followers to know something about our neighborhood after introducing you to our hometown, local college and prominent landmarks in previous posts. It has been a joy to find ourselves down home in Mississippi after 45 years of …

Okay, so the title of this post is not exceptionally creative. All last week the media headlined the top news events, movies, sports contests and deaths of notables in 2011. We were not mentioned in any of them, but someone might be interested in what happened to our year. We have yet to read through the pile of Christmas letters received from many friends which, after a brief holiday greeting, proceed to recount the travels, tragedies, blessings and  anecdotes of the grandchildren during the past year. The bottom line is that we have not yet settled in to an anticipated retirement lifestyle so how did the year get away from us so fast?

Though retirement came in the summer of …