Celebrating the Journey

When I was a kid, my father shared this phrase with me on repeated occasions: You are talking when you should be listening.  His timing was always perfect. He only chose to tell me that when I was spewing off my opinions prematurely or expressing inaccurate information. Choosing to listen instead of talking is not a bad idea in many situations. But there are notable exceptions to that rule. Proper discretion should be used when listening.  We should we be…

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I am not into chick flicks.  I think they are overdramatic and characteristically predictable. I would much prefer to go to a movie where something explodes. But I do appreciate a real love story.  I want to read a love story worth reading. Tomorrow I am going to tell one to an audience that I predict will be fairly large. It goes like this… Ira Lee met Joanne in 1945 in Dennison, Texas. I do believe it was love at…

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I am a busy guy on Sundays. I preach for two services in the morning to a combined group of about 600 people.  Being fresh and having something to meaningful to say 45 Sundays in a year is quite a challenge.  I frequently hear people say they want to be “moved” when they come to a Sunday morning service. That is legitimate.  I want to be “moved” too. But perhaps it would be good for all of us to “get…

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When I go in for a dental appointment, my dentist very graciously gives me drugs that numb the areas where she is going to drill, poke, prod, or otherwise invade. She told me during a procedure one time that she does not want to hit a nerve as she works in my mouth. I don’t want her to either. I would prefer to remain seated in the dental chair, and not be hurled through the roof and into orbit. Last…

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Some assembly required.  I really don’t like that phrase at all.  For starters I don’t follow directions very well.  And the truth is I am just not that handy to start with. As far as I am concerned things that require some assembly just need to remain on the shelf. I have been reminded over the past several years that relationships often require some assembly too.  And I am all about successful relationships.  I can’t stand the thought of anyone…

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Some people just have a complete inability to tell the truth.  In working with police officers over the years, I have consistently observed people telling bold faced lies that are easily disputed. In a lot of cases, it would have been much easier just to tell the truth in the first place.  Recently I observed that a lack of truth telling can take on more than one form. There are human beings who simply cannot express the truth about other…

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I have decided there are two kinds of people in the world.  Just two mind you.  There are coaches and there are critics.  Given a choice I prefer the former and not the latter. Coaches encourage and critics dishearten.  I feel very enlightened on this subject since I just returned from serving as a judge at the Texas UIL State Cross Examination Debate Tournament. As a debate judge, I feel a huge weight of responsibility to evaluate the round as…

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I have spent my life waiting.  In my formative years, I was literally dragged through the mall by my mother, so my sisters could shop for clothes.  Waiting in stores that specialized in fashion for teen girls was equivalent to Chinese water torture.  And then I got married.  I soon figured out that it took my sweet little bride a lot longer to get ready than it took me to put on a pair of jeans and comb my hair….

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I want to go on record. I hate details. I am hosting over 100 police chaplains, instructors, and spouses for a four day training conference in Granbury.  We are running three tracks concurrently for those seeking basic certification along with veteran chaplains in need of advanced training or just some helpful enrichment.  It is a huge job. I am thankful to have several partners that have worked as hard, as or harder than I have to get ready for this…

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