Look around. Listen to the politicians. Read the headlines. Talk to your neighbors and coworkers. It won’t take long before two themes emerge. Justice and mercy. But rarely do these two words occur in the same sentence, or even in the same conversation. There’s a lot...
Anonymity can bring pleasant surprises. Someone ahead of you pays your bill in the drive-thru. Or you receive a card or gift in the mail from an anonymous friend. But anonymity can create problems, too. How many times have you been the victim of...
We are to love well. Jesus said love would be the mark of His followers—love for each other and even love for their enemies. But we have not loved well. For 2,000 years, believers have bickered and fought with each other. Splitting hairs and splitting churches over...
By most people’s standards, I picked the wrong word for 2018. For several years now, instead of making new year's resolutions, I've practiced selecting one word to focus on each year. Actually, it’s not so much that I select the word, it’s more that it’s the word I...
We’re careful about how we spend our money. And we’re careful about exhausting our energy reserves. We’re also careful about how we spend our time…or are we? When I worked in the corporate world, I taught training sessions on time management. The components of time...
With our 40th wedding anniversary approaching in a few days, I thought you might enjoy this personal account from the day Russ and I were married… ~~~ “There’s no room!” I squeezed back the tears, but my husband of just a few hours stood resolute. Romantic...
June is traditionally the month for weddings. All the planning and expenses come together for a grand beginning as two people join their lives together. If only we put as much effort into preparing for the marriage as we do preparing for the wedding. For most of my...
Social media and the evening news are both making me tired. Sad. Discouraged. Done. Today, I hit my limit. A friend posted a link announcing the president had signed an executive order correcting a difficult, complicated, and sad policy. (I’m not taking a politically...
I never thought a sandhill crane would make me cry. A pair of sandhill cranes were living in our little corner of the neighborhood for the last year. It seems fitting, since they happen to be the logo of our development. We’ve watched them establish a routine....
When Hurricane Irma blew through south Florida last September, we were fortunate not to sustain damage to our home. But the natural environment did not fare as well. Trees toppled all around us. Hurricane force winds snapped off branches and uprooted trees. Root balls...
Hot Buttons We all have them. Hot buttons. Sore spots, tender to even a verbal touch. When poked, these sore...
The Order of Submission If ever a word could be identified as an emotional trigger, it’s submission. And if...
Feelings, Rights, Preferences, and Honor “Honor” is not a concept often mentioned in our culture these days. I...