What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to do? Have you ever wished you could gracefully get out of a situation? That’s how I felt when I arrived at my last speaking engagement.
Continue readingA Life Of “Yes”
Here’s this week’s contribution to the One-Word-At-A-Time Blog Carnival. I encourage you to click the link and check out some of the other carnival attractions. As the last fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), this week’s word is: SELF-CONTROL Is Jesus about “No” or “Yes”? I know this guy who used to have a really distorted picture of Christianity. […]
Continue readingStrength
Welcome to word-of-the-week on another Monday at Bouncing Back. Today’s word is … STRENGTH I don’t normally associate paralysis with strength. When I recall twenty-two years of adjusting to life in a wheelchair, it’s as though I’m programmed to greet difficult circumstances with: I’ll never be able to … A wise physical therapist named Leonard […]
Continue readingOne Person
Do you ever think, “If I was in charge, I’d ___.” Fortunately for everyone in the universe, I’m not in charge. But if I was, I’d make life all fun. No saddness, no unpleasant realities, just laughs and chuckles. Yeah, I know all the reasons why that wouldn’t work, but one of the advantages of […]
Continue readingPorcupines And Puppies
Yesterday I asked How Do You Help An Injured Porcupine? Today I’m thinking of a different question: Why bother?
Continue readingHow Do You Help An Injured Porcupine?
How do you respond when your life gets interrupted by—well—life? This isn’t the article I planned for this morning. I’d already written something insightful and thought-provoking—a certain masterpiece (at least in my mind). All it required was a few finishing touches and it would have been here to greet even the earliest risers. And then—life […]
Continue readingHow To Escape The Roller Coaster
No matter where you are, you look around and, sure enough, there you are. Do you spend a lot of time and energy trying to be somewhere other than here-and-now? I’ve noticed lately that my inner life seems to be a roller coaster. Past experience tells me that the valleys will eventually outnumber the hills, […]
Continue readingStory
Welcome to Monday—and another word-of-the-week. This week’s word is … STORY An exasperated teacher once admonished a complaining student, “If you’re bored, you’re boring!” I couldn’t think of a snappy comeback all those decades ago, probably because he was right. If I’m bored by this part of my journey, the best question I can ask […]
Continue readingBig Wisdom From A Small Mouth
As a former teacher, I was inspired by kids. I learned more from my students than they could possibly have learned from me. I taught them a bit of mathematics. They taught me about wonder and possibility, about seeing the world through eyes not yet jaded by the experience of what can’t be done. They taught […]
Continue readingSins Of Righteousness
What’s the ultimate sin? I’ve always figured sin was sin, none any better or worse than others. I’ve always wondered about folks who seem to categorize sins and set themselves apart as though there’s something admirable about belonging to a better class of sinner.
Continue readingLessons From The Mountaintop
Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it. Now what? Remember the feeling of December 26th? The big buildup, the anticipation, and the excitement of The Big Event, and then—what? Disappointment? Disillusionment? What do you do when the day after the big day […]
Continue readingCan Real Men Do Gentle?
Here’s this week’s contribution to the One-Word-At-A-Time Blog Carnival. I encourage you to click the link and check out some of the other carnival attractions. As we work our way through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), this week’s word is: GENTLENESS What do you think? Can real men do gentle? For most of my life, […]
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