At the end of last December I found myself scheduling time off I hadn’t managed to fit in during the year. My company offers paid time off on a use it or lose it basis. Since a benefit like that is part of my overall compensation, I would be foolish to ignore it. David often …
From an early age I swam competitively. In high school I swam on a city AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) team as well as with my high school’s team. That AAU coach was a stickler for form. We watched underwater footage of Mark Spitz swimming, and the coach would point out little nuances the Olympic gold …
Noticing little birds enjoying our bird feeder this morning, I recalled the old song “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” Its reassuring refrain comforts us with certainty that if God’s eye is on the common sparrow, He will surely watch over us. The thought originates from Matthew 10:29. “Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a …
A series of children’s books featured Amelia Bedelia, a maid who consistently misinterpreted directions (with disastrous results) dismaying her employers. She took every directive literally: planting lightbulbs (instead of flower bulbs) in pots, cutting holes in a polka-dot dress to “remove the spots,” and tying expensive cuts of meat in the garden to “stake the …
A recent article about our state’s professional football team highlighted their distinction of having the best defense in the league… and the worst offense! In one game alone, we saw their quarterback get sacked six times and hit eighteen times! It takes more than a good defense to win a football game; somebody’s got to …
Years ago I developed a taste for plain yogurt for breakfast. I mix things with it, but like the taste and the fact that it’s not loaded with added sugar. Since Carrie figured out how to make it from milk and starter yogurt in a crock pot, we’ve been making our own. All it takes …
In The Adventure of Silver Blaze, a Sherlock Holmes short story, the famous detective was drawn to a “curious incident”—a silent dog. This fact, unobserved by everyone else, unlocked the mystery of a missing racehorse. The others’ wrong questions, and the ensuing wrong answers, had resulted in the arrest of an innocent man, and it …
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 …
