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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
Several years ago, country singer Trace Adkins released a song entitled You’re Gonna Miss This. The song chronicles the life and frustrations of an unnamed woman. When we first meet this woman, she is an angsty teenager being dropped off for school by her mother. She is looking forward to better days, days when she is older and independent. The song then jumps ahead a few years to just after the...
Biologist Dr. Richard Dawkins is credited with coining the term “meme” in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. The word is derived from the Greek word mimema, which means “to imitate.” Dr. Dawkins chose this word because it sounds similar to the word gene. He created it to describe how genes reproduce by passing information from one organism to another. In the book, Dawkins goes on to explain how...
The flame has been extinguished. The medals have all been awarded, for the most part (apparently gymnastics is getting a bit gymnasty about the bronze medal). The games of the XXXIII Olympiad have concluded. We may all return to our regularly scheduled routines. We no longer need to sneak a peek at our phones to see how our favorite American athletes are faring. Or, perhaps you wanted to watch...
Jeremy Myers is the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Seymour, Indiana, where he has served since 2017. He has over 25 years of experience in local church ministry and not-for-profit leadership. He has a passion for helping emerging and existing generations learn to make space for each other and caring for the under-served and marginalized. In 2016, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Palmer Theological Seminary, with his thesis focusing on developing connections between senior adults and youth in the church. He is a passionate and gifted communicator and is regularly invited to speak at retreats, camps, conferences, and other events. He lives in Seymour, Indiana with his wife Robyn, their two children, Mikayla and JJ, and their Golden Doodle, Evie.
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