Retiring From Work, Not From Purpose: Embracing the Call to Teach and Serve
I can retire from work. There will come a day when I no longer clock in, no longer work the long nights, no longer answer to schedules, reports, alarms, meetings, and the endless machinery that keeps a working life moving. I can retire from a job. But I…
Why We Climb the Wrong Mountains (And How to Fix It)
This morning started with a list. Security cameras needed to go up. The locks in the garage needed to be changed. The filters on the washing machine needed attention again. Boxes from the move were still sitting around waiting to become part of the house…
Nadia’s Theme and the Mandela Effect: Why Our Memories Play Tricks on Us
I remember Nadia Comăneci. More specifically, I remember the music. That soft piano theme begins, and somewhere in my mind Nadia is suddenly back on the television. Montreal. 1976. Gymnastics. Perfect scores. Depending on your age, you may first…
From Tents to Neighbors: Why “What Do You Need?” Changes Everything
Camping has changed. We used to call it camping when we threw a questionable tent in the back of the car, grabbed a cast-iron skillet, packed some hot dogs, Cheetos, tea, soda, maybe a few potatoes, and hoped somebody actually caught a fish. Usually…
Are Your Thoughts Really Random? The Hidden Patterns of the Mind
Every day appears, at first, to bring new thoughts, and I complain that everything is so random. Random. What does that word even mean? Random: lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern. Well, yeah. By that definition my thoughts certainly look…
The Gift of Time: Why Right Now Matters More Than Tomorrow
Who knows what tomorrow brings? Well, that is an interesting way to start. Just one sentence, yet it does two things. It brings back thoughts of a song, and it asks a question: What was left undone that needs my attention? Nope. I have no idea what that…
Love At Its Hardest
We have made love too pretty. A heart. A rainbow. A little winged child with a bow who really should have had better supervision. We turned love into decoration. But love is not decoration. Love is work. Love is sacrifice. Love is protection. Imagine the…
Meeting Pooh’s Pet Snake: Why You Shouldn’t Judge Until You Look Face-to-Face
My granddaughters, Chrissy and Rye, both have pet snakes. I have to admit, when the two of them proudly announced, “I have a pet snake,” I questioned my daughters’ parenting skills. “Chrissy, what are you going to do with a snake?” “He’s my pet.” I just…
The Sound of the Midnight Train: Reflections on Melancholy, Memory, and Growing Older
Melancholy. What a strange word. It can mean longing, reflection, sadness, the memory of times past. In living my life, it is not a word I have given much thought. Yet here I am, in the midst of what I suppose would be called melancholy. There is a train…
Trying to Find Their Way Home
Pull up a chair. This one is being written by your old uncle, the one you rarely speak to, and that may be too bad because you might have missed something. He is a little strange, sure. Around here, we call him Disco Grandpa. He has been known to chair…