Entering my fourth decade, I’ve spent enough time on this planet to know a few things. One fear sells. When people are worried, they buy or acquire items to help them in a crisis. And number two, there is a new disaster to worry about every decade. Many of us remember Y2K, and we were encouraged to prepare for the end of the digital age; computers will crash, and financial markets will suffer… we should all fill our bathtubs with water and prepare for the end of the world at midnight.   Then again, in 2012, based on the calculations of the Mayans, the world was going to end. Doomsday pr ..read more

  April Fool’s Day. I have never been one for pranking others. Sure, every once in a while, it is fun to hide and scare someone (and in a church building, it happens often). Some people get into elaborate pranks; throughout the ages, companies, presidents, and even entire countries have tried to fool others on the first day of April. In the military, there were simple, harmless pranks where you would ask a new airman to get a fresh exhaust sample from a forklift, hand them a garbage bag, and watch the hilarity ensue.    The pulpit minister at my previous job was an expert pran ..read more

We have all stumbled across the “Serenity Prayer” at some point in our lives. Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, it contains a lot of truth. You may be surprised that it is longer than the abbreviated opening stanza. After reading it, you will understand why most organizations omit the second half. “God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.   Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not as I ..read more

It might be the new American pastime, weight loss. Everywhere you turn, there is a new system or plan to drop some unwanted pounds. Rightfully so, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Health, 73.6% of Americans are overweight. Studies have shown that even a moderate loss of 10 pounds lowers the risks of cardiovascular diseases, such as kidney disease, high cholesterol, and hypertension. A quick online AI search will give you the following internal improvements: a healthier immune system, reduced joint pain, increased life expectancy, better sleep, more ..read more

Crunch. An innocent onomatopoeia- that carries a lot of weight. We enjoy the word when we are dealing with cereal but despise the word when we are driving a car. Anyone who has ever experienced even the slightest buckling of plastic and metal knows the sinking feeling of dread when your vehicle strikes another object. Whether it is your fault or not, few people want to inspect the damage after the smallest of fender benders.   Hopefully, you are adequately insured so that the sting of an accident is not as painful. Insurance is a bizarre concept in our society. There are different types ..read more

The old proverbial saying goes something like, “March comes in like a lion and will go out like a lamb,” at least we all hope so. We hope the transition from winter to spring will bring a more pleasant shift.  However, there is some debate about how this phrase came into existence. Some claim it is purely weather-related and closely tied to superstition, where people welcome a subdued spring.   There may be some truth to this as the northern polar jet stream usually shifts at this time of year and heads further north, often manifesting in violent winds and leaving warmer seasons be ..read more

My boys don’t understand my motives all of the time. As someone who has lived longer, I can also observe situations that will escalate and end in injury or property damage. As an adult in our relationship, I can better perceive a situation’s cause and effect and keep the perils of life away from them. And so, as I watch my boys run around my house with three-foot wooden dowels, swinging them chaotically, I know that this is a recipe for disaster. However, to my sons, I am only ruining their fun and being a “meanie” when, in reality, I am protecting them from the dangers they are not aware of ..read more

Maybe the J. Geils Band had it right- “Love Stinks.” In their song by the same name, their group laments that when you open yourself up to love another individual, you will almost inevitably have your heart broken at some point. In middle school, I thought I had it all figured out. I would become a hermit and live in a remote cabin in the woods. Keep in mind I grew up in the 1990s, long before the current trend of off-grid living had taken root. I came to this novel conclusion about remote living because it seemed easier than dealing with other humans. People are a part of life, but they com ..read more

In high school, I loved participating in track and field. For me, there was nothing better than feeling the air move past me at an accelerated pace. I enjoyed the excitement of a track meet. It was your opportunity to see where you stacked up against your competitors. I loved the idea of giving my best effort and that feeling of accomplishment. However, I was not too fond of the early-season preparation. I might be “old school,” but I know two main ways to get faster on race day: running up hills and training for endurance. If you combine those two elements, most runners will improve their r ..read more

I love my sons equally. In my heart, there is no distinction between them, but they have vastly different personalities and abilities. One of my sons is clumsy, a king of klutz, a professional of pratfalls. He could trip over a breeze. I am the opposite; I have the skill of a mountain goat, skittering across rocks. It is rare for me to hit the ground, and my son practically lives on the floor. And do you know what I do? I hold his hand. Yep, because if he falls, and I know he will, I want to be there to keep him from getting hurt or stumbling. If I can walk in such a way that helps him keep ..read more