Dear Friends,
I’m sure by this time everything is ready in your home. All the gifts have been bought and are beautifully wrapped and tucked under the tree, which is also perfectly decorated with brightly colored ornaments, not one of them out of place. Your whole house is perfectly clean…more
Dear Friends,
When I hear about the violence and terror in Paris, a city 4,535 miles away from me, or San Bernardino, a town 2,203 miles away from me, I wonder just what I can do as one person. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O’Neil, once observed that all politics is local. And really, so is all of life. Sure, we are citizens of our nation and world, but life really happens every single day in the place we call home. This is the one place in this broken and challenging world where you and I can make a difference for the good and do so quickly. It’s easy to forget or neglect this truth and instead feel as if the world is spinning out of control and that we are powerless to do anything….more
Dear Friends,
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” It’s a question I asked numerous times this past week and the answer always had something to do with family and friends around a table. There is something sacred about a table, isn’t there?…more
Dear Friends,
So many of us today want some credit for everything we do. If it is commendable, please commend it. We don’t even mind a certificate just for trying hard! We don’t have to win, do something spectacular, or even memorable. But we appreciate the pat on the back and the sense of appreciation. That’s how many of us are different than veterans. When you talk to the average veteran and thank them, their response is simple: “All I did was serve.” We know! And what’s crazy is the fact that you don’t demand recognition or applause or medals or standing ovations or even certificates. You are happy to have done your part…more
Dear Friends,
I heard it again the other day. And it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard a waiter or a waitress make this comment:
“Sunday’s are the worst. These people come in after church, say a prayer over their food, treat me as if I’m their slave and then leave a measly tip….if they leave one at all!”…
more
Dear Friends,
This coming Sunday in my church we will celebrate All Saints Day, a special Sunday on the first Sunday of November every year when we remember and honor the saints in our church family who have died in the past year, people of all ages who have touched our lives and made a difference….more
Dear Friends,
So this is what happened to me the other day. I was driving down Mahan Drive and slowed down to make a left-hand turn. A car comes up behind me, speeds up to pass me on my left, swerves to miss an oncoming car and careens across two lanes of traffic, hits the curb and comes to a stop. I pulled over to see if everyone was okay. A woman and her middle school daughter were shook up but seemed to be fine. I was sympathetic for a brief moment…then I saw the cell phones in their hands. I didn’t, but I wanted to say “What were you thinking?!! Were you paying any attention to what you were doing?! Pay attention lady and get off that phone!”…more
Dear Friends,
When I was up in Michigan last week I went into a Best Buy store to look for a flat-screen television for my in-laws. It was crowded that day and I was watching this father who had a small child in his shopping cart. Apparently dad was looking for a new computer. The toddler wasn’t getting his dad’s full attention so, in obvious frustration, he reached up and grabbed his dad’s face in both hands, looked him in the eye, and said “Listen to me, daddy!!” …more
Dear Friends,
Beth and I are heading up to Michigan tomorrow to celebrate hand honor her parents 90th Birthday’s. 90th!! The amount of history and change they have witnessed during this time is mind-boggling to me… more
Dear Friends,
Fourteen years ago this coming Friday. Where were you? Many will ask that question and we will remember like it was yesterday where we were, what we were doing, and the emotions we felt when we first got the news on September 11, 2001. We remember it personally: “I was going to work and it came on the radio.” “My wife called me and told me to turn on the television.” “Everyone’s cell phone started ringing in my office.” “My daughter was on a business trip and I just needed to hear her voice and know she was okay.”… more
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