Everyone has had two kinds of teachers. Some you never remember. Then, there are those you never forget. Everyone has a list of the second. (It is usually a short list.) What makes the difference between the two? We assume we know what teaching is. [...]
For 17 years, I lived on the Texas Gulf Coast. During that time, I got to see the damage gale-force winds can do. In their wake, they leave debris. Life’s winds sometimes blow through my days leaving them in disarray. I have learned [...]
Obligations, opportunities, and possibilities invade our lives without interruption. Which do you choose? Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a disease of the modern who “wants it all.” No wonder most people suffer from overload and stress! None of us can do it all. So [...]
You drive through once-bustling neighborhoods to find deterioration. Families once laughed in its rooms and couples grew old together. Then, the community changed. The first visible signs of blight are the broken windows. Malcolm Gladwell popularized a theory of crime prevention called “the [...]
Sometimes you do what appears to be foolish, and it helps someone else. It is the principle of invisible influence. Invisible influence means people are watching you and you affect them, even though you are unaware of their notice. You see someone pick up [...]
Some years it is hard to watch the Super Bowl. This year was, for many, a struggle to decide who to support. (For Dallas Cowboy fans, which team turns your stomach less--Eagles or Patriots? It's a coin toss.) Super Bowl LII gave me something to [...]
For a dozen years, I make an annual January trip to Managua, Nicaragua. While many go as tourists and many Americans are ex-pats, I go for another reason. I go to help poor people. I go with a talented and devoted team of doctors, pharmacists, [...]
I am a simple carpenter. No one would believe my story. I wouldn’t believe it had I not lived it. My father Jacob was a carpenter who trained me to be a carpenter. As a boy, he would tell me the family stories. My favorite [...]
Christmas colors are red and green. Tinsel shimmers. Lights twinkle. Hearts soar. Sometimes, life paints Christmas a different color. There’s no Pantone color number, but the best way to describe it is Melancholy Blue. I enjoy Christmas but also the holiday season carries [...]
On the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Cookies album is a song called Ordinary Days. It’s not a traditional Christmas song. In it, the writers Steve Bogard and Rick Giles captured more than holly, snow, and nativity scenes. They put a tear in the eyes [...]
