I think I know a lot about myself. You know…my weaknesses, strengths, hang ups, prejudices. I’m self-aware. At least I think so. And then something happens and I am surprised that I am not as aware as I thought. The other day I was chatting with my daughter about exercise and she surprised me. I …
Today…an opportunity to gather in community with other like-minded folks. Sometimes I wonder if it’s really that important and then I attend our worship service and have a spectacular time. To be honest, the best times are when I step out of my little world and take an interest in others. Here is something to …
Waiting: to look forward expectantly, to stay in a place of expectation. I await the arrival of my second granddaughter. It occurs to me that even though there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of babies born every day, not everyone is waiting for the arrival of a baby. In the same way, not everyone waits for …
Read: Micah 7:7-8 Micah was confident and it inspires me to be courageous. If you take time to read the whole chapter, you will see that he lived in tumultous times. And yet his confidence wasn’t in what he could see or even the people closest to him. His hope was in the unchanging character …
Read: Psalm 40:1-3 The psalmist is in a bad place in a pit of despair. I have been there and I bet you have too. But what do we do when we feel our feet sinking into the mud and mire? What did the psalmist do? The psalmist “waited patiently for the Lord to help …
We wait. In lines. In traffic. At appointments. We wait. For test results. For seasons to change. For sun. For rain. We wait. For the pregnancy test to say “YES”. For the time to be right to pop the question. To buy the house. To sell the house. To change jobs. Life is full of …
The strategic planning exercise we participated in at Ashland University challenged me. I had done the same type of activities in other settings, but our instructor simplified it for us. He suggested the process to get from where we are to where we want to be includes three elements: Daily Diversion: We were challenged to …
There I sat with a colossal mess! Dave came home and I sheepishly told him that I understood if he was upset. There was no blame coming from me if he was. And I led him to the chaotic mess in our backyard. And he loved it! Not the mess so much, but the idea …
A few years ago I attended a conference at Ashland University in Ohio. The presenter gave us a strategic planning exercise to develop our spiritual lives. His first admonition: begin with the end in mind. Soon after we moved into our house, I decided I wanted a fire pit area. Dave was home for lunch …
Last week in a visit to the kinesiologist, he attached a bead to the bottom of my foot with athletic tape. It is small. About 1/4 inch round. But it hurts. I cannot walk in my usual way without it digging into my foot. So, I have to adjust the way I walk. And that’s …