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...
I did it again. Sigh. You’d think I would be more careful. But for several weeks, clean up from Hurricane Irma has required us to step into overgrown areas to clear downed trees. Those overgrown spaces were also full of Brazilian pepper vines. For those who are not...
Are you in God’s waiting room? Have you been praying for something, on hold for an answer, hoping for your circumstances to change? I confess, waiting is not my favorite activity. And right now, I’m waiting for something especially critical…test results of a loved...
Kindness is a virtue most of us appreciate and many of us aspire to. You may have heard about the practice of random acts of kindness. It supposedly began in 1982 when Anne Herbert scrawled the words "practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a...
What makes one person a prisoner of hope, while another is mired in hopelessness? My “one word” for 2017 is hope, so I’m especially attuned to this word this year. And the subject came up again during a recent lunch with a friend. She asked me how to become a...
Today is the 103rd anniversary of the first electric traffic system installed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914. Four sets of red and green lights told drivers when to stop and go. The Cleveland Automobile Club praised the system, saying they expected that it was “destined...
“I can’t wait till things get back to normal.” Have you said those words recently? Normal. The good old days. A slower pace. Less hectic. Fewer troubles. Happier times. Not like it is today. Today has health problems. Doctor appointments. Conflicts. Struggles to find...
Most days I reach into the mailbox with disinterest. Bills. Advertisements. More bills. Rarely anything else, except at Christmas or for birthdays. After all, if someone personal wanted to contact me, I’d see their note as an email, text, or Facebook message. Who...
Did you know there’s a National I Am in Control Day? Really. And it’s observed annually on March 30. When I first learned of this dedicated day, I laughed. After all, I’m a self-confessed recovering control freak. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that...
Gardening is therapeutic for me. After spending much of my day writing and preparing to teach a Bible study, I enjoy the physical exertion of battling the weeds in my yard. Having lived in a large city for most of my life, I confess I labeled anything I didn’t plant...
How Desensitized Are You? As I write this, my phone is dinging. Breaking news: “At least 12 dead after massive...
Called, Loved, and Kept There’s a lot of talk in Christian circles about being “called,” and rightly so. The...
Life-Changing Advice I’ll never forget Betty. Betty was an older woman I knew from church when I was a young...