This week America celebrates the life of its 41st president. George H. W. Bush lived a remarkable life marked by devotion to service. Among 41’s considerable accomplishments, I’m personally grateful for his support of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Bush’s 1989 signing of the ADA marked a major milestone in civil rights legislation. Like […]
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Faith And Fake Thanks
I’m having a tough time feeling thankful. Details aren’t important, and honestly it’s hard to admit because tomorrow’s THE BIG DAY and I’m surrounded by blessings I don’t deserve and we’re supposed to be thankful. What in the world is wrong with me…how can I possibly not be thankful? Wait…I never said I’m not thankful. […]
Continue readingMore TagIt’s Hard To Avoid…
…becoming cynical. …the temptation to fight back. …dividing the world into winners and losers. …believing winning matters more than anything else. …letting disappointment become anger. …letting the anger effect other parts of life. …refusing to let it go. …demonizing everyone on the other side. …the desire to go beyond winning and harm your enemies. …losing […]
Continue readingMore TagJust Listen
“Why don’t we just listen?” Heard that question a lot lately. Someone has a difficult story, and others wonder why simply listening seems beyond our cultural capability. I get it. Even in ideal circumstances, deep, non-judgmental listening takes a great deal of effort. Put the story in an emotionally-charged (or politically-charged) situation and one has […]
Continue readingMore TagRoad Trip!
When I was 16, my best friend and I took a brief road trip. My uncle gave me a car, a ’51 Chevy. It was a pile of junk – I think he did it mostly to irritate my dad. Anyway, my buddy and I hopped on a bus, excited about 500 miles of open road […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat If FDR Was Wrong?
In his first inaugural address to a country mired in the depths of the Great Depression, FDR struck a note of optimism. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Nothing to be afraid of…except being afraid? I’m not so sure. Lots of fear these days, related to all sorts of issues. Much […]
Continue readingMore TagTraining Accumulates
My parents taught me the value of saving money. Old-school saving – don’t spend everything you earn, set aside a little each week or each month. Over time, those small amounts accumulate and carry over. It’s a great lesson that’s served me well. I learned, for example, to “save up” for a big expense. Work […]
Continue readingMore TagWhy You Should Show Your Work
Students typically don’t like to show their work. Often when I asked students to explain HOW? their explanation sounded a bit like the cartoon. “I did this…then a miracle occurs…and I got the right answer! Cool, huh?” Sounds silly, but I think we often do a similar thing when we share our stories. I think not-showing-our-work […]
Continue readingMore TagThese Three Remain…
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” When you spend some of your final minutes making this kind of point, it’s probably pretty important. Earlier Jesus said it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT commandment, the one upon which everything else depends. LOVE is clearly Jesus’ most central, most […]
Continue readingMore TagA Living…Or A Life?
I recall only one detail from my 1969 campus tour at Iowa State University. Friendly student ambassadors explained procedures and traditions as they showed us around the main buildings. Here’s ISU’s Memorial Student Union, a wonderful, grand building dedicated to graduates who perished during WWI. Lots of history, a place of beauty and reverence. In the […]
Continue readingMore TagJust Tell Me The Answers
“Can you help with homework?” The former math teacher occasionally gets a call, often on a weekend. And while I love to help, I’ve discovered I’m not a very good tutor. I was a big-picture type teacher, never believed in recipes or easy shortcuts. I wanted kids to work things out, figure it out for […]
Continue readingMore TagCouch Courage
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! Are you? We’d like to follow this biblical encouragement passed from Moses to Joshua to all of us. Who doesn’t want to be *courageous*? Stand for justice? Save the kid from a burning building? Take a bullet for a friend? Followers of Jesus are courageous…right? “Take courage. I AM. Don’t be […]
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