That Dog Don’t Hunt

A general stood on stage, quoting an old first sergeant from Georgia, “That dog don’t hunt!” What he meant was that something didn’t make sense. What he really meant was, “Something happened, but it doesn’t make sense to me that it should have happened.” Generally,...

Come and See!

Nurses just know. They’ve been there, done that. They say, “Just slap a bandaid on it and stop complainin’!” But that same gruff nurse who blows off our ouches and owies as an annoyance will soften like butter in the warm, Texas sun when confronted with a patient who...

There Is Always One More

Some people are born to be in sales. I was not. Most aren’t. So what makes someone so good at sales? Is it the gift of the gab or an innate ability to convince others against their will? If we don’t have the gift, can we ever do a job that requires it? Yes! The secret...

It Is Finished

How much longer? Maybe you have a countdown app on your phone, or you place a big “X” on the calendar every day. Sometimes it can’t just get here soon enough. A birthday, graduation, retirement, or getting out of a cast/quarantine can make time feel like it is...

What Was I Thinking?

If I don’t finish a project before the end of the day, then there is a good chance that when I come back to it the next day, I will ask myself, “What was I thinking?” Until I remember what I was thinking, “I lose the bubble,” and just stare at it. Sometimes I think I...

Those Among You Who Fear God

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Without Google, I could not tell you that Shakespeare wrote that in his play, Julius Caesar. I must have read it at some point, probably in high school, and the phrase stuck with me. Why? It uses vocative language to...

Looking for a Place of Prayer

The new year is upon us. Perhaps you are reviewing this past year. Maybe you are resolving yourself to the next. In all of the flurry of our daily lives, make time for quiet time. When you feel crushed by compounding and increasingly urgent priorities, push back and...

Why would the directions say that?

Hopefully, baby cribs are easier to put together today than they once were. Overlooking a small detail, like a safety catch, could send the side of the crib crashing down on your toe. Then the answer to, “Why would the directions say that?” became painfully apparent....

Grenade!

What do soldiers or Marines do when a grenade lands among them? The most heroic among them might make a split-second decision to jump on top of it. Falling on the grenade usually results in the death of the one in hopes of saving others. That is heroism worthy of the...

A Prayer

Holy God, You Who are Creator of All That Is, You Who are Love’s source and example, You Who are the great I am, You who are the eternal comforter, and You who are Redeemer of mankind through the ages – past, present, and future – please hear this prayer. You are...

New Testament

God Has a Better Plan

God Has a Better Plan

Two thousand years ago, Elizabeth wanted children. In her culture, children were her priority. She didn’t have any, therefore others looked down on her. Her society wrote her off as too old to be a successful Jewish woman. She was too old to have children. She was...

read more
Greek Yogurt Is Terrible

Greek Yogurt Is Terrible

Johnny stood, mouth open in disgust. “It gets stuck between your teeth, is too tough to chew, and tastes like day-old Dr. Pepper. Greek yogurt is yucky!” He wrinkled his nose even thinking about it. Jen paused her spoon an inch from her open mouth. “Have you ever...

read more
Come and See!

Come and See!

Nurses just know. They’ve been there, done that. They say, “Just slap a bandaid on it and stop complainin’!” But that same gruff nurse who blows off our ouches and owies as an annoyance will soften like butter in the warm, Texas sun when confronted with a patient who...

read more

Old Testament

Change Is Tough

Change Is Tough

The Air Force provides a lot of training, very little of it on a volunteer basis. One of the trainings I took was in “Change Management.” It may have had a different, more military sounding name, something like “Non-linear Progression of Leadership Requirements” but I...

read more
The A-Team

The A-Team

When the Air Force stationed my dad overseas, the only real disadvantage of living “on the economy” was a lack of US TV programs. If you lived close enough to base, you could watch the Armed Forces Network, but we lived too far away. Somehow, one of the American...

read more