The past week offered a study in contrasts. It began with our nephew’s photo welcoming his new baby son into the world and ended with old friends bidding their youngest son goodbye in the wake of a tragic accident. Both scenes occurred in local hospitals, but the accompanying emotions could not have been further apart. …
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up (Proverbs 12:25). One day I messaged a coworker and just asked how she was doing. She said it made her day—just that I asked! That stuck out to me. And while it is easy to get wrapped up with myself, I have since …
A couple of years ago I noticed some crabgrass in my backyard. I’ve always been diligent to uproot it when it appeared in my front lawn. But for some reason I ignored this little patch that popped up out back. It had emerged in a place that was stressed by relentless hours of sun each …
In my characteristic outside-the-box thinking, I recently suggested, “Let’s get rid of some furniture and put a ping-pong table in the living room.” So we did! But that meant also converting the dining room into a TV room. (Welcome to my unconventional world!) We reconfigured the TV and antenna, having dropped cable years ago. Since …
The writer of a business book popular some years ago urged readers to consider hiring virtual assistants to offload tedious tasks and save time. In one amusing section, he recognized his preoccupation with anxious thoughts over a particular situation. Seeking to free his mind for other tasks, he contacted his virtual assistant and instructed her …
What are you good at? My soon-to-be-married daughter recently asked me to address her wedding invitations. I’ve hand-lettered since I was twelve and once ran a calligraphy business, so I told her, “Of course!” You confidently say “Yes” when asked to perform tasks at which you excel. But what if God asks you to act …
Many of the earliest stories we hear start with, “Once upon a time…” From there the author paints the setting and introduces the characters. Schools offer classes such as America History: 1492-1865 or AP World History. We tell stories and histories to our kids chronologically so they can understand the sequence of events. In a …
Growing up with a dad who was a research scientist and chemical engineer, I occasionally found things in our garage one wouldn’t consider a standard household item. One of these was a little jar of silver fluid curiously heavy for its size. I recall playing with it and pouring some of it in my hand. …
Still somewhat in summer vacation mode, I recently pondered seating on planes. Some discount airlines require you to pay extra to choose your seat. The rest get assigned a seat at random. But whether you pay for your seat or choose to be subject to the airline’s whim, they allow all sorts of people on …
A few times a year I fly to visit my mom in another state. Everyone on the plane takes it for granted that the plane will leave the ground at the end of the runway. None of us doubt that the law of lift will defy the law of gravity. Scientists such as Cayley, Bernoulli, …
