Middling has Potential and Not Just for Monkeys
I think I may be a terminal moderate. I’m not sure whether this is good or bad. I’m in the middle of: I’m more of a: — Read the label, now the next one, fix it if you can, try the Nastar course, monitor your own pulse, seek what’s true — kind of gal. Jumping […]
Post-it note promptings
Sometimes I feel like God speaks to me in sticky notes. At times when there is so much to say, there are so many ideas to consider, or there’s no time to write it all down, I scribble the gist of it on sticky notes. On these occasions, my paper or my journal page or […]
Gotcha! not
I turn to write on the board and I hear it behind me. The scampering of feet, shuffling of desks, of papers, of books. Looking over my shoulder, nothing is amiss. Every student in his place. Every desk in its space. The smiles of sweetness greet me. “Yes, Dr. LeBolt?” I shake my head in […]
How Much is a Good Coach Worth?
How much do you really know about that guy or gal who showed up to coach your team? With the explosion of youth soccer in the United States, many clubs are beating the bushes for coaches at the grassroots level. Thousands of well-meaning, servants of the game check the “I’ll be head coach” box. Thank […]
What if we’re dying and we don’t even know it?
It’s just an introductory song to get us going on a Sunday morning. High energy. I was broken and you healed me… I was dying and you gave me life, Yeah, that ole God is always helping us out in our troubles. It was just killing me, we say. I was dying out there, we […]
Forward vs Foreword
Got a spelling lesson today. I’d never realized that the front matter of a book, the introductory pitch, written by some famous or inspirational person to get you to read what’s coming, is not a “forward” but a “foreword.” It’s not a ready-set-go. It’s a word that goes before. A preparation for what’s coming. It […]
Is wall maintenance worth the cost?
It takes a lot of energy to maintain a barricade. You’ve got to keep reinforcing the mortar, keep patching the holes, keep building it higher and deeper and wider. Maybe if you camouflage it with some greenery and shrubs, people won’t notice it and they’ll stop trying to get through it. Maybe they’ll leave you […]
The Christmas Caterpillar
On Christmas day, I rescued a caterpillar. He (or she) was crawling slowly across my family room carpet. What in the world? In December? It’s freezing outside! Shouldn’t you be somewhere south where it’s warm? And what do butterflies do in the winter? I couldn’t bear to put it outside, certain it would meet a […]
If my life is a single statement, then
“A human life is a single statement.” ~ Howard Thurman (in With Head and Heart) Isn’t that a fascinating thought in light of … “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…All things came into being through him.” ~ John 1:1-3 And “In the beginning when God […]
Transparent but not invisible
I don’t know much about art. The arts appreciation sessions of my youth were probably mostly lost on me. Oh, I can describe what I see: the colors, the form, the brush strokes, the character, his expression, her touch. Perhaps, if the artist is clever I can even sense three dimensions even though the canvas […]