There’s a storm brewing… Well, maybe. According to weather.com, “a disturbance in the Caribbean is likely to become Tropical Storm Rafael sometime Monday, and it could become a hurricane before entering the Gulf of Mexico.” To increase the intrigue, the forecast included a video complete with spots of green, yellow and red swirling out over the ocean and a cone of bright red illustrating the...
Election Season: Have No Fear
The signs of the season are all around us. It is that time of year when people put on masks and costumes and pretend to be something they are not. They roam our streets seeking offerings of approval from those who live in the region. They promise tricks if they are not given the treats they desire. No, I’m not talking about Halloween and the many children who will parade around our community in...
The Songs We Sing
That which we do with regularity often becomes rote and ritualistic. When we talk of something being rote and ritualistic, our meaning is generally negative; they are things we do out of habit and without thought. In some ways, the negativity is unwarranted. There are many aspects of life as followers of Jesus that are intentionally habitual. It is good to make a habit of daily prayer and bible...
Just Show Up
American filmmaker Woody Allen is credited with the saying, “80% of success in life is just showing up.” We can haggle over percentages, but the point he is making rings true. The starting point for success in anything in life is being present when and where the job is being done. You can’t win a race if you don’t lace up your shoes and step out on the course. You can’t make the grade if you...
Eating a Door to Enter Another
Sitting on my desk is a daily calendar. Across the top, it reads, “MENTAL FLOSS: AMAZING FACTS.” While it would be a stretch to call any of the tidbits of information “amazing,” they are usually at least mildly entertaining. For instance, before authoring the wildly popular Goosebumps series of children’s books, author R. L. Stine wrote the jokes found inside Bazooka bubble gum wrappers. Another...
It’s the Spirit (Not the Shoes)
In the late 1980’s, Nike released an ad featuring Michael Jordan and Spike Lee as the character Mars Blackmon. At the start of the commercial, Mars asks a question that was burning in many a mind of that day: “Yo, Mike! What makes you the best player in the universe?” He then goes on to explore potential sources of Jordan’s skill. He asks His Airness, “Is it the vicious dunks??? Is it the haircut...
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
In 1872, Colt’s Patent Firearms Company designed a revolutionary new product that had a profound impact on American culture. This invention was the Colt .45 revolving pistol, or as it is more commonly known, The Peacemaker. If an image doesn’t immediately pop into your head, think for a moment of any old western movie ever made. The guns slung by just about every cowboy on the silver screen were...
Knowledge is Potential
There are few things that we love more in the information age than being well-informed, or at least believing we are well-informed. In theory, the advent of the internet and a plethora of digital devices have put a veritable treasure trove of information at our fingertips, all the time. The ubiquity of our access and our proclivity to act upon it has forced us to create new words to describe the...
Ears to Hear and Eyes to See?
The human mind is an interesting machine. It is capable of receiving, storing, and utilizing amazing amounts of information. The potential our minds possess is seemingly infinite. This makes it all the more frustrating and embarrassing when our minds fail to function appropriately with the most basic of tasks: looking and listening. We have all had those moments when the information is coming in...
Sweet or Sour: Life, Lemons, and Lemonade
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I’m not sure who first uttered these words, but it’s hard to deny the wisdom they communicate. Early and often are the times that life goes sideways on us. In those times, we must decide if we’ll let our circumstances make us sour, or if we’ll find a way to make something sweet and enjoyable out of it. In my own life, I’ve found that many of my best...
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