Are you willing to do it when no one is looking? I think I do things for good reasons. I think I have really pure motives. But I was reminded today once again that reality is my friend. My motives are not nearly as pure as I would like to think. I discovered that my ego is indeed as big as Texas itself. Last month at church we underwent a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer. Our Family…
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is affiliated with the Center for Loss and Trauma. She directs the MISS Foundation, which is a, volunteer based organization committed to providing crisis support and long term aid to families after the death of a child from any cause. I find her reflections on grief to be insightful. Dr. Cacciatore’s most recent quote is as follows: No answer could ever be good enough for a parent’s grieving heart. Well said Dr. Cacciatore! I recently spoke at a…
I foolishly thought that social elitism and accompanying popularity contests officially ended during high school commencement ceremonies. What a foolish judge I am of human nature! Even seemingly well adjusted and responsible adults sift people through their social screens to determine who is in and who is out. I even see it in church settings, which makes such an activity particularly repulsive. But occasionally I hear a story about courageous people with hearts overflowing with love that dare to abandon…
Does the name Scut Farkus ring a bell? Scut was the resident bully on the 1983 movie, A Christmas Story. He played the part quite well. He was the stereotypical bully that has been a part of school since the inception of public education. I saw a quote today about the concept of school bullying that was personally convicting. It reminded me that bullying goes well beyond the realm of mean kids like Scut Farkus that threaten to beat up…
I have known people over the years who really wanted to know the dirt on everyone in town. And I do mean they really wanted to be in the know about such things! I have even known individuals that were inclined to pump their friends for information in order to be on the receiving end of the latest gossip. Human beings will always be flawed, so there will never be a shortage of said dirt. I must confess. I have…
I don’t know how many times I have heard financial advisors say: you are investing for the long haul! The implication being that it is important to ride out the ups and downs of the various financial markets I fully understand that concept and I would think that it is still a valid way of looking at things in a time of rapidly changing economics. But of more importantly I continue to find that such a principle applies to human…
We were in the 5th grade. To be more specific we were in Mrs. Shepherd’s class in the 5th grade. Our teacher, Mrs. Shepherd, was a direct descendant of Attila the Hun. She ran her classroom like a military boot camp. On the top left-hand corner of the chalkboard she posted her solitary rule of conduct for the school year. It read as follows: Love one another. That’s all…According to Mrs. Shepherd that was the only written law that all…
Once upon a time…I remember telling my boys bedtime stories (that I made up) that began in such a manner. Once upon a time is a phrase that just has an innocent ring to it. When we hear that expression, we anticipate a journey into the fantasy of story land. But such a saying can also have a serious connotation. Once upon a time (in real life) the vast majority of the important relationships in my life were carried on…
We played in the sandbox together. We formed the “Willow Club.” Girls were very reluctantly allowed full membership. The fact is girls even played football with us. I of course had a Bart Starr #15 jersey to wear on such occasions. We constructed elaborate forts adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan. And as we grew up, we rode our bikes to Shoop Park with our golf bags on our shoulders. We played basketball at the Wind Point Elementary playground…
It was a terribly hot Friday afternoon in July of 1992. I suppose all Friday afternoons in Wichita Falls, Texas are terribly hot in July…I was enjoying a glass of tea along with some chips and salsa with some friends when I was paged to the ER at was then Wichita General Hospital. A lady in her late 20’s rode on the ambulance as paramedics strived to revive her husband, who had collapsed at their home in a few moments…