One of my favorite vacation destinations is the beach. I love essentially everything about it: The ocean, with it’s waves rhythmic and crashing; the sounds of the sea soothingly breathing in and out. I love getting in the water, surrendering to the tide’s calm rocking, feeling cleansed and rejuvenated. My favorite thing to do is...
How do you put the pieces of your story back together after finding out about a great betrayal? How do you reclaim a past when you find out it was seemingly built around a longstanding lie? In her article ‘Great Betrayals’, Anna Fels explores how ‘robbing someone of his or her story’ through a longstanding...
You’ve probably heard the story about old man Floyd, a widower, who lived alone in a ramshackle house down by the river. Floyd was a man of great faith who seemed content regardless of circumstances. Anyone in town could tell you that when times were tough Floyd would just smile and say, “the Lord will provide.” And, it...
Just so you know from the outset, these words have no magic potion, no 30-day money-back guarantee, and not any earth-shaking information. In fact, this is a major “not rocket science” collection of words. This is so simple you can do it with your eyes closed. You can do it in the car. You can...
A former boss/mentor/fatherly-friend once told me ‘You can’t not lead; the fact is you’re always leading, it’s just a matter of how well or poorly you’re doing it.’ This phrase has been stuck in my head for years now, and always seems to find new areas to lay hold of. Lately, this saying has modified...
The root of discipline is disciple. The point of disciplining is to teach. As parents, we are in the business of teaching our children to lead fruitful and healthy lives. However, many times we find ourselves feeling frustrated about how we handle difficult parenting moments – Those moments when we yell, shame, or are sarcastic...
Oh, Good Grief! “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.” –C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves Have you ever lost something? Or someone? I don’t mean like losing your keys, or getting separated from your mother in the department store… I mean truly losing...
The rugged canyon at Laity Lodge, deep in the Hill Country of Texas, illustrates that even the hardest surfaces can be worn down over time. So can we call it the “water wearing away rock” phenomenon. I am referring to hard circumstances in our lives that go on and on. Some of them, perhaps all...
I drive a truck. It’s my favorite vehicle that I’ve ever owned, and it has a sticker on the back that says “Love Wins.” If you’ve ever seen me on the road I hope I was behaving myself, and that I was at least somewhere in the neighborhood of the speed limit! This is a...
A woman sits at her kitchen table, taking a breath and a quick break from the demands of her world. She is being pulled, pressured, criticized, and drained. She thinks briefly of the woman she wishes she could be and becomes lost in all she wants for herself: A woman who was beautiful in every...
