150 reasons why we are free today: gratitude flashmob
Have you ever noticed how contagious gratitude can be? I just had the opportunity, thanks to the William & Mary DC area Alumni organization, to welcome an Honor Flight coming into Reagan National Airport. On it were men and women who had served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam who were flown into Washington, DC so they could tour […]
Show us the way back to you
We are what we eat. We resemble the company we keep. We become what we think about. We are not who we think we are. Beloved, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~ Phil 4:8 […]
How to Say No to the Pressure Toward Early Specialization in Youth Sports
Focusing only on one sport, year-round, can increase kids’ risk of injury and burnout, according to the recent position paper on the dangers of sport specialization put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics. But the incidence of early specialization in so many of our youth sports continues, regardless of doctor’s orders. Physicians tell us that kids […]
Sidedness is natural, but let’s mind the gap when we board the bias bus
We’re born discriminating, distinguishing, and differentiating because we’re born very, very near-sighted. Our first job in life is to distinguish ourselves from the world. To determine what’s us and not them. This hand I see, the one that moved when I thought ‘move’, it moved! That hanging thing that flung when I thought the move and meant […]
There’s been an explosion, but there is no bomb
Shell-shocked. I’m flattened, literally, thrown to the ground by the hand grenades being heaved in my land. There’s been a bombing, but there’s no shrapnel, no visible debris, just many, many injuries. Bodies strewn everywhere, writhing in pain. Bandaging their wounds, wrapping their torn limbs. Some, sitting motionless on the cement, with hands pressed to […]
Which do you believe?
“There’s probably no God so stop worrying and enjoy life” …read the back of the service van weaving through the crowds gathered to marvel at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where all are welcome to enter free of charge. When ‘probably not’ opens the door to ‘possibly is’ the great bolt of worry slides aside to unlock a […]
Reconstruction Zone
Building from the ground uP is beautiful. Neat. Clean. Polished. Precise. But Remodeling from the inside OUT is messy. Ripping. Rending. Gashes. Holes. Cover it over with shiny granite, sparkling porcelain, brushed nickel, stainless steel. Impregnable, in its newness. No one will ever see what’s under the remodeling. Thank God only Me and Thee have seen […]
Helping Kids Set Healthy Boundaries
“No” used to mean no. Nowadays it’s more of a suggestion or an invitation to negotiate just how hard you will work to change my mind. But what if the answer needs to be no? What if the right response is no, but I know you really want me to say yes? What if danger […]
Body Language of Nature’s Beauty
I can read you like a …rose.
When Hide and Seek Becomes Here I am
Ready or not, here I come!” I always loved hearing those words because that’s when the fun really began. I knew all the best hiding places around our house. In the stairwell, behind the bushes, between the pine trees, by the swing set… What made them good was this: you could see the seeker, but […]