A seagull lives in the woods outside my window. Well, he sounds like a seagull, but since I’m 175 miles from the coast, maybe he’s not. He sure sounds like one, though. And when I hear him, I have happy… Continue reading

When Mary broke the bottle of perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet, the aroma filled the room. The perfume itself was confined to a small spot, but its effects permeated the area. It’s likely that I won’t travel around… Continue reading

The wings were good and that’s why I went. So why am I about to gripe? Because I can. A couple of things struck me as odd. The waitress had never eaten anything on the menu. Not much help to… Continue reading

27% of the earth’s surface is dry ground. Which in a high percentage of places is dirt. It’s pretty much everywhere that water isn’t. Yet when it’s time to plant a garden, what do we buy? I know, it seems… Continue reading

If you ever plan to do Spring cleaning and take a load of useless household crap to the landfill, please don’t tell my dad. He will most assuredly demand that you drop it off at his house. He throws nothing… Continue reading

One lesson my kids get tired of hearing from me is about responsibilities and rewards. These two hang in a delicate balance with one another. If I require my child to do something, it is his responsibility to do it.… Continue reading

The garden isn’t getting too far very quick. My dad can’t do a lot without me and I don’t have enough of me to go around. He needed me today to hammer some tomato stakes in the ground. They were… Continue reading

I learned early on that when I have pc issues, I should restart it before calling my pc expert brother in law, Joel. A reboot will flush out 96.7% of all glitches, snags and malfunctions. If it doesn’t then Joel… Continue reading

I really wanted that Diet Coke in the fridge. Then I remembered the promise that I made my daughter. She had sworn off sodas recently and being the super supportive dad that I am, I joined her. Actually, my words… Continue reading

I don’t like locked doors. I’m not sure why. Maybe I was beat as a child behind locked doors. Just kidding, Mom! I’m not talking about locking your house up at night or when you leave or locking your car… Continue reading

About 2 years ago God began building something in me that I’ve never had. Confidence. Then a year ago I read a book by Neal Anderson, “Victory Over The Darkness”. This book cemented everything God had been teaching me by… Continue reading

I worked 18 hours yesterday. By Saturday afternoon I will reach the 75-80 hour mark. Next week looks the same. So it was last week. It would be easy to get burned out. Become cranky. Ok, that’s too easy and… Continue reading

When did pleated pants go out of style? When did the worldwide memo go out and how did I miss it? Maybe it went to my junk folder or got zapped by my spam blocker. Maybe I don’t tune into… Continue reading

I gave my 7 year old son, Will, a raise in his allowance today. From $1.50 a week to $2. Big money. He was excited, but then quickly turned cautious. “Does this mean I have to do more work?” Maybe… Continue reading

Trains don’t ever come at a convenient time. Ever. We don’t calculate for them when we are racing to appointments or trying to get to work on time. They blow up the worst laid plans. Yes, the worst. The best… Continue reading

I just realized that May 2013 is the 3rd anniversary of this site. Happy anniversary to me. When I started blogging it was very important to me that people read my posts. A writer wants be read. I would often… Continue reading

I went off the wagon tonight. For 2 1/2 months I have used myfitnesspal to lose 15 lbs, but tonight my sweet woman put fried pork chops in front of me. Katie bar the door. That’s all she wrote. I… Continue reading

First impressions are so powerful. We should really care more about them. I played racquetball the other night for the first time in years. Watching my group was a guy dressed out to the nines in expensive gym wear. His… Continue reading

On the way home I noticed a rattling noise behind the back seat. For the 1073rd time. Each time I made a mental note to investigate and fix this very annoying distraction. Each time I forgot. It’s like an uncomfortable… Continue reading

So many things don’t get done because I don’t do them first thing. Daily devotionals, exercise, educational reading, etc. The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions. If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing first thing when you… Continue reading

I listened to a Dave Ramsey Entre Leadership podcast the other day and that’s the great lesson I learned. Run with the buffalo instead of the cows. He interviewed an author who explained the difference. When a cow senses a… Continue reading

Shelby doesn’t like to be late. To her events. So it wasn’t unusual this morning for her to stand in the kitchen “urging” her mother to hurry up. Then I saw the irony. “Shelby, instead of nagging your mom, why… Continue reading

I was digging holes for tomato plants with post hole diggers and after the fourth hole my post hole digging muscles were worn out. Quitting seemed like a grand idea. To me. My dad thought we needed a few more… Continue reading

My scanner works just fine. It really does. I have some friends who paid a lot of money for their super sonic, break the speed of sound scanners. To hear them brag on their babies makes me a little envious… Continue reading

Things don’t always work out the way we plan, but God can work out everything better than we imagine. In January, Sandra and I went on the South Beach Diet. For 2 months we strictly deprived ourselves of everything we… Continue reading

God revealed something to me the other day. My dad is impatient. That wasn’t the revelation. In my almost 46 years on the planet, I’ve known that one for at least 41 and a 1/2 of those years. Some context.… Continue reading

If you are in high school or college, slow down. Relax. Don’t hustle through trying to scurry on to the next stage. Careers and marriage will come. Enjoy what you have now. Long stretches. Long stretches of time, a couple… Continue reading

I strongly dislike yard work. I restrain from using the word “hate” and reserve it for anything related to household repairs and folding laundry. But I really don’t enjoy pulling weeds, raking leaves and sweeping the driveway free of those… Continue reading

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” We’ve heard that expression a zillion times. And I’m sure that I’ve bit that hand just as many times, but now I’m beginning to understand the truth behind the worn out cliché. That… Continue reading

In the last month or so: My laptop died My copier/scanner bit the dust My pressure washer hose broke My smart phone messed up Our van needed repairs Our van had to have a tire replaced Then it to have… Continue reading