Funeral for a Phone
Phone black. No on. No off. No apps, no emails, no blogs. No hits, no runs, no errors. Inning over. Wait a minute. What is that I hear? …the sound of silence. Of no one calling, No texts, no messages, no Facebook. New game: Watch the road and let the mind wander at red lights. […]
Six Perfect Words: I Just Love to Watch You Play
“I just love to watch you play.” (okay technically seven) These are the six simple words I would like to tell my kids after every game, every performance, and every event. It’s the one thing I want them to know, and it’s been this way since…well, forever. I remember my delight at watching them find […]
Can We Bring Back Going Steady?
So.Much.in.the.World. What ever happened to going steady? Just the thought of it makes me smile, recalling Happy Days with the Fonz and Richie Cunningham sorting out teenage life at the malt shop. Going steady was what a boy did with a girl before asking her out or to the prom. Of course, after school you’d meet up to […]
Permission to Come Aboard
You don’t just buy a ticket to come in. Reaching out is not enough, Lending a hand is nice, but no, Easy come, easy go. No, you have to ask to come aboard, Ready to step onto the ship and go for a ride. But to do that, they must lower their shields, and disarm their weaponry […]
Bringing Out Their Best: motivation as art and story
Once upon a time there was a little girl. She could really catch and really throw, but the thing she could do best was hit. Every time up, she swung that bat and sent the ball way into the outfield. One day, Coach said, “Wow! How do you do that?!” “I don’t know,” the girl […]
It’s Complicated – Not
Complexity is temporary for the truthful. A web weaved by one who intends to deceive stays intricate, tangled, confounding. It’s meant to lose people along its way. But the person of truth breaks down the steps, untwists the turns, and unfolds the bending to free the one strand used to form it all. What a […]
Good words inspired by the Good Word III
Dear friends, Here are my most recent highlights from the Upper Room magazine devotional reading and writing. Just me and my daily doodlings, courtesy of the little book that reaches around the world. That God, He is always slipping in a good word when we’re not looking. It is human nature to want to push […]
Not meant for the easy way
How easy to be a tree. Seed and sprout, Green and grow, Bloom and leaf and shed, repeat. Reach, reach for the sun. Yawn, yawn, day is done. Oh, to be like the tree. Small then tall, with no thought outside it all. Branches spread wide, Food and water come inside. Times up, fold your wings, […]
Deep Practice: The Secret Weapon the Caterpillar Teaches
Everyone who has ever played the game well remembers the day it felt effortless. Smooth on the club, crisp in the hands, the timing is perfect, the loft just right, the backspin just so: swoosh, woosh, bam, pop. Even the sound confirms you’ve found the sweet spot. You’re in the zone. It’s a deceptive thing, this […]
A Billion Prayers
What do a billion prayers sound like to God? Do they ring, like bells? Do they rush, like water? Do they sing, like melody? Do they echo, like canyons? Or do they shudder, like fear? Shout, like panic, Whisper, like despair, Rasp, like profanity? Do they run for their lives? Huddle in hope, Gasp, in […]