Why is it the people who need the most help… won’t take it? Norman Maclean (A River Runs Through It) Who’s that person in your life who needs to change? Perhaps a boss bullies and controls or fosters chaos through indecisiveness. Maybe a coworker refuses to communicate or a friend follows a self-destructive path. Possibly […]
Continue readingTranquility
Someone commented last week that “Happy Monday” is an oxymoron. I think it was a joke. Monday is word-of-the-week day, and this week’s word is TRANQUILITY In case you haven’t noticed, the world isn’t an especially tranquil place. Wars rage in many corners of the globe. Anger, conflict, and hostility seem to permeate media, business, […]
Continue readingFifteen Lessons I Learned From My Dog
Last week Monte and I visited with some kids and parents about service dogs as part of a Spring Break series about working dogs. I shared some of the lessons I’ve learned from sharing life with Monte. This video shows some of the slides I used. I hope you enjoy it. What else have you […]
Continue readingToughest Forgiveness
Forgiveness is giving up the possibility of a better past. Is there someone you just can’t seem to forgive? For some reason, forgiveness is on my mind lately. I’ve written a couple of posts (The Real Power Of Forgiveness and Forgiveness isn’t …) but it’s still poking at me. After some conversation with God (prayer) […]
Continue readingThe Real Power Of Forgiveness
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. Lewis Smedes A few days ago I posted an article advancing a revolutionary notion: Forgiveness isn’t … easy. No kidding. We all struggle to forgive when we’ve been hurt. That’s sort of obvious. So here’s a question: If it’s so […]
Continue readingFaithful And Lacking Faith
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: FAITHFULNESS For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our […]
Continue readingOptimism
Happy Monday. It’s a good day for this particular word-of-the-week. OPTIMISM: an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome. I’m not naturally optimistic. Somewhere along the line I learned to anticipate the worst. It’s a tendency that’s caused me a lot of problems, but old […]
Continue readingMaking It Happen
A couple of weeks ago I did a Monday word-of-the-week about EXECUTION. I asked these questions: Ever get a great idea, mess with it, dream about it, develop a bunch of possibilities, talk to others about it—everything except actually doing something about it? Ever see something really fun and think, “I couldda done that?” Ever […]
Continue readingForgiveness isn’t …
…easy. When someone hurts me, my natural reaction is not forgiveness. How can I forgive something this bad? Have you ever heard (or asked) that question? Forgiveness isn’t our first impulse. We’ve all been hurt, and “letting it go” isn’t programmed into our menu of responses. We want to fight back, to hurt the one […]
Continue readingWhy?
Do you ever ask why? As a classroom teacher, I always thought why was a good sign. If a student cared enough about something to ask why it happens, I figured I was doing something right. Of course, why doesn’t always really mean why. Sometimes it means it’s not fair and I don’t like it […]
Continue readingWhy Take The Risk?
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; […]
Continue readingDiscernment
Happy Monday. I hope your week’s off to a great start. Monday’s word-of-the-week day, and this week’s word is discernment. I encountered this term last week in a wonderful workshop offered by Gus Lee. Gus talked about courage and leadership, and one of his key points was that courageous leaders must exercise discernment. In this […]
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