Just before the apocalypse began and COVID-19 took over the world, I had an interesting interaction with one of my neighbors. We both pulled into our driveways and exited our vehicles at approximately the same time, so it only seemed polite to ask him how he was doing. I yelled the standard neighborly greeting; “Hey buddy, how’s life?” At the moment, his response was humorous, if not a tad cliché...
Evaluate, Adapt, and Overcome: Refusing to Settle in the Season of COVID.
The last several months have been a continuous exercise in adaptability for all of us. As we all now understand all too well, it is not an easy exercise. It continues to stretch and mold us in ways we can’t fully comprehend or appreciate in the now. Generally, change ebbs and flows like the tide, rising and falling with some level of predictability over time. Recently, it feels a lot more like a...
Don’t be the Villain
Movies tend to be somewhat therapeutic for me. They provide my overactive, hyper-analytical mind with something outside of my everyday, real-life struggles to focus my attention and energy on. I often find myself looking for myself in the movie. I try to figure out who best represents the point of view I would hold were I to find myself in the same situations, with the same options, and with the...
Take the Wave
My family recently spent a week and change in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Not to worry, though, we social distanced like champs and have returned home healthy and ready to roll. Our routine each day was extremely basic and bland. We roused the children at about 9AM and by 9:30AM we were usually covered in sunscreen and ready to head to the beach. Other than a short trip back to the room to eat...
Speaking the Truth in Love
I had quite the interesting experience before church began on a recent Sunday morning. As my daughter and I approached the doors, all of the lights were off and the doors were locked. This isn’t unusual as we currently don’t open our doors until 30 minutes before the service starts. As I fought with my keys in an attempt to unlock the door, it suddenly and extremely unexpectedly opened. Standing...
The Fight for Freedom Continues
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Nothing compares to the warm glow of Christmas lights and all of the wonderful happenings that come with celebrating the coming of the Christ child. The amazing displays of aerial explosions celebrating the birth of these United States of America, however, sits in a distant, yet solid second place. As a follower of Jesus, I believe my first...
Bridging the Divide
At the point where the New River meets US 19, between Summersville and Fayetteville, West Virginia, there is an amazing feat of human engineering, The New River Gorge Bridge. If you have traveled through the Mountain State on US 19, you have crossed this bridge, and may have done so unknowingly. If you’ve ever been whitewater rafting on the New River, you most likely have seen this bridge...
Déjà Vu: Something Needs to Change
Have you ever had a moment of déjà vu? I’m sure you have at some point in your life. A déjà vu moment is a moment that you feel you have experienced before. Perhaps you’ve been in the middle of a conversation and the content, from the participants to the exact wording, seems eerily familiar. Or, perhaps something happens to you or a family member and you are absolutely positive you have either...
Listening, Learning, and Discovering What to Say
Have you ever met someone and immediately thought, “This person is awkwardly, even painfully, intelligent?” Before he ever spoke a word, this was my impression of the smartest professor I ever studied under. When I first stepped foot into his office, the framed documents on his wall confirmed my gut intuition and served to increase my bias. He had several Masters degrees and at least two...
Light at the End of the Tunnel
2020 has been a banner year, and the hits just keep coming. I mean, there have seriously been overly dramatic movies that have contained more realistic and tempered plot-lines than what we have experienced thus far. Much like many of you, I am trying to keep it positive. I am doing my best to see the proverbial “silver lining.” I’m working hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at...
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