Ahhh…new year, clean slate, new beginning. Twelve months of potential. But not everyone is optimistic about the future. Some say that if the past is any indication, we’re in for big trouble in 2011. Newspaper headlines from 2010 brimmed with accounts of disasters. We...
When I was in high school, I worked in the toy department of a large department store. Twice a year, we prepared for an outside firm to take inventory. We worked with these teams to count every item on the shelves, and I do mean every item. We even included incomplete...
In 1967, the Beatles had a hit with their song, “All You Need is Love.” That song became a theme for the 60s and 70s. Love is all the world needed to solve its problems, or so the song claimed. About that time another refrain became popular: “God is love.” It’s one of...
How joyful are you feeling right now? Yes, joyful. Are you rejoicing this Christmas season? No? Not so happy about the long lines in the stores, the extra traffic on the road, the additional expenses resulting in more month left at the end of the money? But it’s...
There have been times in my life when I wished I had more peace. Ever felt that way…like you know God gives you peace, but sometimes you just don’t have enough? The problem with wishing for more peace is that it implies peace is a commodity – something we receive in...
If there’s one thing in short supply these days, it’s hope. Politicians promise, but fail to deliver on their promises. Family members make commitments, but disappoint us. Terrorists strike with seeming impunity. Jobs are scarce, money is tight, and the more we wish...
Happy Thanksgiving! Seems like everyone is saying it this week. The cashier at the supermarket, the mail carrier, the receptionist at the doctor’s office. Happy Thanksgiving! But what if this Thanksgiving day is not a happy one for you? You may have lost a loved one...
I’m never ready. Every year I turn the page on the calendar, and the holidays are suddenly staring me in the face. And every year I say the same thing: I’m not ready. Why not? It’s not as if the holiday season is a surprise when it arrives. Thanksgiving is always on...
I was never much of a numbers person. Words are more my thing. Lots and lots of words, if you ask my husband! Numbers…not so much. It’s one of the reasons I love to write. To be able to communicate using myriad combinations of a mere twenty-six letters is nothing...
Planner? Check! Calendar? Check! Schedule? Check! Lists? Check! As you might imagine from the above, I write things down, I plan ahead, and I have an orderly (and perhaps a bit compulsive) life. Spontaneity is not one of my strongest characteristics! But I’ve been...
Just Do It Thirty-four years ago, Nike launched a new advertising campaign. Adding to their already iconic...
Spiritual Junk Food Not sure why, but I’ve been bingeing on junk food for the past several weeks. Which is a...
Bluegrass and Jesus I attended my first bluegrass concert last week . . . and it was not what I expected. The...