I was getting ready to deliver my sermon for the second morning service yesterday when I was approached by one of the members at church. Guess who is here today, he said? I am not sure I wanted to know… He proceeded to tell me that my undergraduate Spanish professor, Dr. Mary Perez, was present. No pressure of course! I had no reason to feel pressured. I was not planning on delivering my sermon in Spanish. But I still…
Last year was a time of reconnecting for me. In some cases, such reconnecting led to much needed reconciliation. Apologies were issued and forgiveness was extended. But mainly it was a time of resurrecting childhood and adolescent era friendships. The experience was rich and fulfilling in a way that is difficult to describe. Perhaps the richness is rooted in the time of life in which we find ourselves. Many of us are watching our children begin, and in some cases…
I am impossible to satisfy. I suppose I have no clue what it means to be content. I have whined for over three weeks now about my two college age sons staying up all night and sleeping all day. We have clashed about curfews and trips into Fort Worth. I decided today it was time to send both of them packing to their respective university campuses. I met both of them at Walmart this afternoon to stock them up on…
“Part of me is afraid to get close to people because I’m afraid that they’re going to leave.” That is a pretty interesting comment, but I think it is very honest. People are kept at a safe relational distance, because of the fear of abandonment. What can be said to the person who has been terribly damaged relationally? How does a person who has been abandoned by their spouse ever trust someone again? How can a child that has been…
It could have been my child….That is the though that crosses my mind tonight, as I reflect on the loss of Officer Jillian Smith who served the Arlington, TX Police Department. She was protecting the life of an 11 year old girl from an armed and extremely dangerous perpetrator when she was killed in the line of duty. The man killed the girl’s mother as well. He then turned the weapon on himself, and took his own life. I have…
I have read lots of books on leadership over the years, and for the most part they have been insightful. But theories proposed in books will never be a substitute for real life examples. Today I heard a story that reflects the essence of leadership. The most difficult hours for a police officer working patrol during on nights are from about 4:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m. By that time, even the serious revelers have gone home. As a rule, reports stemming from…
The Battle of the Bulge which began on December 16th, 1944 and continued well into January of 1945 in the Ardennes Forest was the final major German offensive during World War II. The Americans suffered over 70,000 casualties, and some 19,000 deaths during the bloody battle. The fighting of course took place in bitterly cold weather. I recall telling an old WWII Vet several years ago that I had watched the movie: The Battle of the Bulge on television. His…
I enjoy disarming people. I find it to be a challenge. I take pleasure in breaking down the barriers that impede personal interchanges that are genuine. I interact with very polished professional people every single day. They are intelligent and articulate. I consistently learn something from such individuals’. But they can also be full of phony bologna. (In Texas we call phony bologna something else actually…) And that is precisely why there is a need for disarming. When I intermingle…
There is always hope for reconcilation when one party is willing to extend the hand of love and forgiveness. Riding out on a part of a shift with one of the police officers I serve with is always a learning experience. When I rode on a patrol shift recently, the officer was I accompanying took a young man to the county jail for an offense. (I will not disclose the day it occurred or the nature of the infraction for…
This is my second and final rerun blog to complete 2010. I wrote this one almost a year ago, and I still find the thoughts to be challenging. I talk to myself on a very regular basis. But I am not crazy in the least. I know this to be true because I don’t answer myself. My mother always told me that a person is not crazy unless he answers himself. Why would I not believe my own mother? She…