Category: Reflections

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

“Those kids are INCREDIBLE!” Maybe you’re heard a similar sentiment lately. Maybe you’re among those who are surprised as passionate, articulate young people step forward following another tragedy to claim #neveragain. We’ve heard all about how these spoiled, entitled millennials with noses buried in their phones would be the end of civilization. Sort of like […]

Grief’s a funny thing. Not funny/haha but funny/ironic. Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross demonstrated that grief progresses through similar stages across cultures, but no two individuals navigate their grief in precisely the same manner. It’s a completely universal human experience, yet we each experience it in our own unique manner. In a recent memorial service the pastor […]

Psych 101, Iowa State University, Fall 1969. Maybe 200-300 students in a creaky old lecture hall, professor droning, me taking notes with one question in mind: Will this be on the test? Came home (yes, I lived at home) from my very first college midterm exam and told my mom I was going to flunk […]