Observe the battle: My brother and I on one end of the field. My sister-in-law and her daughter on the other. Dispute: When best to eat a pear. My sister-in-law and her daughter want an apple-like experience when they bite into a pear, and they will only eat the fruit if it offers a solid crunch. My brother and I,… Read More
A Pretty Easy Way to Help Your People Succeed
You know me, right? So if I tell you that my high school students had a two-day retreat last week and that they needed me to be a team captain, you’ll respond appropriately. I can see that grimace on your face. A look of sympathy maybe? (For my team. For me. For both.) Come with me, back to my 4th… Read More
Afraid You’re Going to Mess up around People?
First day of school today, guys, and how could I not write about it? My new room is perfection, if I say so myself. Verb folders are prepared and waiting for unsuspecting freshmen. There’s a fake apple that looks for real sitting on my desk. Not sure what to wear, but I imagine the bed will be covered with a… Read More
If You Always Feel Like You’re The Weird One
We all sat down with our food at McDonald’s, appropriately in the Playland, where there was enough seating for all of us and where our cumulative maturity level demanded we sit. It was our final time together, after a weekend family reunion that pulled in aunts, uncles, and cousins from as far east as St. Paul, Minnesooouta and as far… Read More
How Much Courage Do Most People Run On?
Hey friends, I’m on vacation in Wyoming for a week, so I pulled this blog post out of the archives from 2012 (have I really been blogging that long?) My dad worked for Amoco Oil, so I hope you appreciate the picture of oil rigs I found in his honor. If only I could make it scratch-n-sniff, so you could… Read More
Ten Ways to Light up The World Today
I was inspired this weekend, by a man from India who came and spoke to our church on behalf of the Pardhi people. They are the lowest people in Indian society, not even considered in the caste system and treated as subhuman. Their literacy rate is 2% (and you can imagine how that pained me.) As the man began to… Read More
The Importance of Being Liked
Will you pause for a minute and enjoy this beautiful picture of my mom’s front room? My daughter snapped this picture when we went for a visit a few weeks ago. She says her grandma’s house is magazine worthy. Doesn’t it make you want to find a book and a cup of coffee, so you can read in that big… Read More
Have an Attitude You Can Be Proud Of
On Friday afternoon I went to the grocery store, and as I was going down one aisle I smelled something strong and yucky. Looking up, I saw cones blocking off a damp section of the aisle. My imagination had me thinking maybe they had cleaned up throw up. Was it throw up? As I walked by, the saliva ran in… Read More
Worrying about Someone?
This weekend I drove away from my mother and my daughter, and I think there should be a law against that. I drove to Wyoming by myself, to visit my mom, and we had the most wonderful time. She took me to a little place in Lander called The Middle Fork, where I ate the most delicious asparagus quiche. The… Read More
Imagine What God Can Do with Your People
When we took the kids to Disneyland for the first time, they were in high school. As we talked about our trip to California, our son was excited about Disneyland, but our daughter acted cool. Disneyland was for little kids, you know. Until we got there, and you should have seen her face on the Toy Story ride. She smoked… Read More