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...
“Experience is the best teacher.” This phrase is accredited to the great Julius Caesar. While I am eternally grateful to all of the many women and men who have served as teachers in my own life and in the lives of my family and friends, I must say that this statement rings true to me. Education, both formal and informal, provided me with a great deal of information and perspective to help me...
Have you ever wondered how an average person would fare against professional athletes? Who among us hasn’t watched our favorite team or athlete struggling to perform up to our standards and thought or actually said, “COME ON! EVEN I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER THAN THAT!” I think it would be incredibly interesting to give a few average Joe’s and Jane’s an opportunity to put that premise to the test...
“THAT’S A LOT OF JESUS!!!” This was the first line of the caption for a photo I recently encountered on Facebook. The photo was of a box full of tiny Jesus figurines. The stated plan for these “little Jesus’s” was, and I assume remains, to place them around Columbus, Indiana and wherever travels might take them in efforts to “share a ‘little Jesus’ wherever we go!” It’s a very clever idea and I...
In February of 1964, Bob Dylan famously sang, “…the times they are a-changin’.” At the time, Robyn’s Nana was 40 years old. Nana doesn’t strike me as the Bob Dylan type, but the truth of Mr. Dylan’s lyric must have rung true to her then. They undoubtedly resonate in her soul all these years later. Nana recently turned 100 years old. It’s quite an amazing accomplishment. Living many years is a...
There are a great many things that I love about the winter months. While I don’t enjoy being cold, I do enjoy dressing in layers and I am particularly fond of stocking hats, puffer vests, and sweaters of all kinds, but especially of the Christmas variety. I enjoy sitting under blankets watching movies and shows with the fam. And, while we have not been blessed with much of it in recent years, I...
One of my first jobs was working at a wood shop owned by my Grandfather. Because I only worked during school breaks, there was very little skilled work for me to do. Most of my time was spent sitting at the end of a conveyor belt stacking freshly painted pieces, or standing at the back of a saw or molder stacking freshly cut wood. Most of these jobs were dependent upon another employee who could...
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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