Writer, Speaker, Editor, Blogger
A few weeks ago, I pulled out several boxes of my children’s toys to entertain the grandchildren. Buried near the bottom of the first box was one of my childhood toys, a blue-haired troll. The grandchildren were initially fascinated with the wild blue hair and elfish features, but soon tired of the troll and moved […]
Last week, we received a letter from the company that manages our homeowners’ association citing a possible violation and requesting we weed our flower beds. This letter left me confused because our yard is professionally maintained, and two weeks before, our beds were sprayed and new pine straw put down. I squinted at the unidentifiable […]
Summer brings with it the opportunity for travel and exploration. Social media is full of pictures of families at the beach, lakes, national parks, historic landmarks, and enjoying beautiful vistas here and abroad. Nature is a gift. Our Creator could have chosen a bleak, bland landscape for our existence. Instead, he gave us amazing colors, […]
*This week we are enjoying a vacation, our first since 2015! In order to fully benefit from time away from the regular routine, I revamped this post from several years ago. I hope it speaks to you. When I was a child, my uncle had an in-ground swimming pool. At the time, this was […]
Last week, I had a meeting in a neighboring town. After the meeting, I decided to swing by a few stores on the way home. The highway to my destination is undergoing construction, and as I neared the exit I needed to take, I saw what appeared to be only construction traffic in the far […]
When I was a child, my father had a gunite swimming pool built in our back yard. That pool is still in use today. In places, the coping is cracked, some tiles have a few chips, and the diving board is gone, but overall, our “cement pond” is in good shape for a 52-year-old. Growing […]
Have you wondered what inspires creativity in people? Is it an event, other people, challenging circumstances, an accumulation of knowledge, determination, heritage, or talent? The answer is likely a combination of all of these, plus more. In watching a documentary on Francis Scott Key and the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” I saw some similarities […]
Over the last few weeks, I’ve watched the painstaking renovation and restoration of a 1905-era historic home in my town. The house has served several purposes since the original owners built it, including that of an event venue. At one point, the house was for sale for over ten years with no takers. Potential buyers […]
At a recent family gathering, as the grandchildren zoomed through the room, our two-year-old granddaughter stopped in mid-run and announced, “I’m wide-open” before resuming her full-tilt forward motion. Not long after, she was clutching a blanket and staring, fighting the exhaustion that was steadily overtaking her. Often, we know we are over-extending ourselves, but do […]
My 20-month-old grandson is a single word kind of guy—shoes, walk, hot, light, bird, tree, uh-ugh, EAT—yet he knows how to effectively communicate. He listens, makes eye contact, gets to his core message quickly, and then waits for a response. For adults, communication is often more complicated, especially in today’s world where statements and opinions […]