February 2015 archive

What’s Your Greatest Weakness?

Which is easier: naming your greatest strength or naming your greatest weakness? When we are young, we sometimes imagine that we are invincible. Elijah used to think he was Superman. One day he was in our master bathroom dressed in his Superman pajamas. He was only four years old. I heard three things that made …

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Can You Solve This Problem?

How do you explain the unexplainable? How do you measure the immeasurable? How deep is the unfathomable? I rarely use the word, “unfathomable.” It’s a great word, but for some reason I trip over it when saying the word out loud. But I’m using the word a lot lately, and there is a specific reason why. My son Elijah …

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You Won’t Believe It!

Seeing is believing. Or so it seems. Elijah loved to fish. He always caught more fish than any of our family. It was almost as though he had some superpower vision that allowed him to see beneath the water’s surface. And any of us who have ever fished know that fishing is the art of catching the …

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Safe Surrender Site

    Safe Surrender Sites have been around a lot longer than these signs have. In a recent trip to California I took this picture from the side of a fire station. There are laws now in all 50 states supporting the safe and legal surrender of newborn children. But this was the first time …

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What in the World?

A mother had often asked her little girl, “What in the world are you doing?” She laughed when she heard her daughter one day asking her doll: “What are you doing in the world?” These days I think a lot about Elijah and what he was doing in the world.  One of his last text messages to me was a reminder …

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If Only…

Living on Purpose can sometimes be as simple as the difference between ‘if only’ and ‘what if’. Ask yourself: “Do I spend more time looking back at things that have happened, or looking forward to what might happen next?” The first approach can lead to regret, disappointment and bitterness. The second approach can lead to hope, …

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Passing the Test

Some of us like taking tests. Most of us would rather avoid them. But being tested is an unavoidable part of life. Our lives are full of tests. Formal tests. Informal tests. Difficult tests and easy tests. Wouldn’t it be great if some of life’s greatest tests simply required a little studying, a number 2 pencil …

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Wake Up Call

Have you ever missed an important event because you didn’t wake up on time? I have. When I travel and I need to wake up early for an important meeting, I ask the hotel for a wake up call. I don’t fully trust my alarm clock. Actually, my alarm clock is a smartphone app, but …

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You’re Grounded!

Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh. Overheard in the car one day when Elijah was a little boy: Mom: “That’s enough Elijah. You’re grounded from video games!” Elijah: “Oh yeah? Well why don’t you gwound me fwom books instead” Mom: “OK, then you’re grounded from books.” Elijah, quietly: “Good. Cuz I don’t even yike ’em!” It was hard …

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