When my children were little, I remember calendar countdowns to Christmas where they would open a “door” every day during Advent that would reveal some aspect of the season. Antigua is full of such doors. You never know what might be hiding behind each one! There are long rows of buildings with non-descript doors that […]
Read More“What I have written, I have written,” (John 19:22) Pilate says when asked to change what he had posted on the cross above Jesus. I’ve been reflecting on this for the past few weeks as I work on polishing manuscripts for publication. Not that I want to align myself with Pilate in any way. He […]
Read MoreAs a teenager, I was not much into poetry. I’m still not that into poetry. I love Shakespeare, however, for some reason I don’t think of his writing as poetry. I think of it as play writing. I love the poetry of the Bible, in particular that found in the prophet Isaiah and the Psalms. […]
Read More“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little lives are rounded with sleep.” The Tempest, William Shakespeare I have long loved this quote. I’m not sure why, I just know I’ve loved it since I first heard it while studying Shakespeare in high school, way too long ago to remember. Prospero, […]
Read More“What’s the worst that could happen?” I’ve asked when helping individuals problem solve and make decisions. There’s something about confronting our worst fears that makes it easier to move ahead when stuck. Studies have shown that this is more effective than asking what’s the best that might happen. We are more held back by fear […]
Read MoreI was on hiatus last week while I explored Antigua, Guatemala, with my daughter Ruth and dear friend Bev Nemecek. This visit will provide material for future blog posts as well as help me with revision of a novel I’ve written set in Honduras. For now, enjoy a few pictures.
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This first appeared in Jackson Citizen Patriot on Friday, March 26. Still relevant, still worrying! Giving Up Worry for Lent We are now in the season of Lent, a time for giving up certain vices, making sacrifices and striving to do good. This year I’ve decided to try something different – giving up worry! Worry […]
Read MoreThroughout high school and college I studied languages. I studied French all eight years, plus several years of Russian in college, a semester of Mandarin Chinese, an independent study of ancient Greek, and some Spanish and Latin. With each new language, a new world and new way of thinking opened up before me. I loved […]
Read MoreEfficiency is over-rated. Efficiency experts tell us how to get organized, to only touch each piece of paper once, to multi-task and hence make the most of our time. However even the experts are realizing that effectiveness is more important than efficiency. You can be very efficient at doing the wrong thing, thereby being ineffective. […]
Read MoreMarriage on the downhill side of fifty is different from marriage in my twenties. Back then, death, illness, cancer, retirement, were all far off phenomena, not on my radar screen. Life was long and we had years ahead of us before we would have to deal with such things, or so I thought. Even […]
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