Gift bags lobbed from above
Which way? I wish life was a flow chart. This or that? Here or there. Now or later. Reminds me of my precocious 9 year old helping her toddler sister with what to choose on the kids menu. Patiently, she would go down the list of the six kid-friendly items, 2 by 2, asking, “Do […]
How are your reflexes?
Stimulus–response. An amoeba does it. A Venus fly trap does it. A snake does it. We do it. A tap on the knee and our leg kicks out, all by itself! Automatically, without consulting the rest of us. Even our brain is surprised. Reflexes are part of our programming designed to protect, support and allow us […]
If finishing is your objective, Godspeed is your pace
I’m out on a hot soccer field with a young man who wants to make his high school team in the spring. It is September and he (with his father) has engaged my services to help him in this pursuit. At our first meeting, I run him through a few drills. About mid-way, I have […]
Excessive celebration
Those wide receivers and tight ends are so full of themselves, dancing around in the end zone like that. Shakin’ their booty and strutting their superiority. Right there in front of the defender they just beat to score the touchdown. It got so bad they had to regulate it, penalizing them for excessive celebration. I […]
What’s “Thy Kingdom” and when will it get here?
Our God is a very patient God. With all that we’ve done to deny and defy and dismiss Him or Her since the beginning of time … I’d call that patient. God promised, in Christ, to come again and to bring His kingdom with Him. What if that’s not a descent from the Holy above […]
Have you heard? Vermont Ain’t Flat
Have you ever found yourself on an uphill with no more gears to shift down into? That was me last weekend. Two mile uphill. Couldn’t see the top and Jim, the tour group leader sweeping the route (yes, I was the LAST cyclist) shouts from behind me, “Don’t save your gears!” “I’m not!” I called […]
Niagara Falls, power in glorious motion
Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Me, too. Twice. Once in 1983. Once in 2013. I only now notice the 30 year span. The Falls are still there. Still incredible, powerful, awe-inspiring. People flock to see them daily. Before I saw them, I heard them. And I remembered this sound. Apparently, from way back […]
Doesn’t completing a project feel good?
Fill in the blank Complete the sentence Close the loop Finish that song! We humans have a need to finish what we started. Almost as if we’re designed that way. Why does it seem like we’re always spinning our wheels? On the go. No rest for the weary. We get chastised for doing too much, […]
Always better the second time
I’m always better the second time. It doesn’t seem to matter what I’m doing. The second lap, second repetition, second draft, second kid (my first kid would tell you). I’m not on my second marriage, but we came to a breaking point and started again, so I’ll count that, too. What is it about trying […]
What dogs know
Dogs circle and circle. slowing, sinking lower and lower, centering, until they find their perfect place. Rest. Could dogs be trying to teach us something?