Finishing Strong

“Who’s first?”  In my experience, the answer depends entirely on what precedes the question. I’m instantly back in my public speaking course in college. If you’re like me, you’re petrified but prepared and you just want this over and done with so you sit in the front row and your hand goes up before the …

I Got Nothing

I’m a fixer. I’m not at the same level as my mother who has more trouble sitting still than I do. I’m not lazy; just a hair more laid back like my dad. Still it’s hard for me to admit I don’t have the answer. Not every situation has an accounting solution where the spreadsheet …

Speaking From Experience

James and John were fishermen by trade, the rough and tumble sons of Zebedee. With these two, everything must have been a competition. Jesus chose them to be among his closest followers and nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder.” (Mark 3:17) Even before they were called out by the Christ, these boys must have been pretty …

Reality Filtered

Photo by Ashley Goodlett The community grocery store near our first home had an automated coin sorting machine the size of a smart car. My husband took our children there periodically to cash in the pocket change he’d saved up for special adventures. The kids loved the clanking and flashing that followed their upturned paper …

Amen!

Amen! I use it daily as an affirmation when I strongly agree with a social media post or comment and to close my prayers and blessings over meals, but its meaning is far more rich. As a term of determination or resignation, “so be it” says so much more than yes or okay. There is …

The Choice Is Yours

I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Wouldn’t it be nice if all we got was good news? What if we only ever had good news to share? The weather would always be sunny with no rain on weekends or holidays. Every student would pass and no one would fail …

Seeking Joy

Have you experienced sticker shock at the gas pump or the grocery store recently? Economics teaches us that scarcity, among other things, drives prices up, even if the scarcity is perceived rather than actual. Russia’s recent incursion into Ukraine may be the main talking point but it is hardly the reason for current spikes in …

Habit in the Making

Did you brush your teeth? Yes ma’am. Are you sure? Feel my toothbrush. This was my kids’ favorite argument at bedtime. Well, at least it was a close second to “just one more story!” It took some training and persistence to teach my children to be responsible for brushing their own teeth, and perseverance to …

Who Does He Look Like?

My husband was enrolled in Genetics, the study of inherited characteristics, in medical school when we started making plans for a family. We spent our evenings talking about dominant and recessive traits and which we possessed and would likely be passed on to our children. No amount of imagining could have prepared us for the …