In every great story, someone is fighting for what they believe in. Something dear to their heart. Something that is much bigger than their own life. When we think about our favorite movies, we recognize that Frodo is fighting for the survival of Middle Earth. Wonder Woman is fighting to preserve human kind. James Bond and Ethan Hunt (from the Mission Impossible franchise) both fight for the lives of those ...
“Society treats kids and senior citizens the same,” Rachel remarked to me the other day, and it got me thinking a lot about the truth of that statement on many levels. In the main, there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of time, respect, and wholehearted care given to those populations by the mass of individuals who find themselves chronologically between them, even if they are related to them. ...
By now, I’m going to assume you’ve seen the viral video of a political expert being interviewed via Skype by the BBC, and the comedy that ensues when his two daughters boldly and innocently enter into his home office before being corralled and yanked out of there by their completely embarrassed mom. I saw the video early on Friday morning, and immediately showed Rachel (who loved it because that could ...
To start the new year off right, I’m reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts and it’s teaching me a lot about counting my blessings on a daily basis, and how that directly produces joy in life. I will probably blog about the book when I am done because I’m finding it life-changing, but for now I want to write about something else that the book prompted within me. Ann is ...
Well, it’s the end of 2015. And I’m doing some reflecting, of course. Maybe I should wait until New Year’s Eve, but I’m on Christmas break, and so my mind is in an introspective mood. Here's my main question: am I happy with how this year has gone? For the most part, yes. I mean, I think that all of us feel a bit of restlessness and perhaps even resignation ...
In my last blog entry, I asked “What is your Calling?” and covered a number of related issues. I first discussed that a 'calling' is the secret of who you are meant to be, instead of something that you simply do (for a living, etc.). I also shared that I believe a vocation and a calling are different for most people, and that the former won’t ultimately fulfill you, but ...
I’ve been thinking a lot these days about contentment, and specifically how it relates to my calling. When I use the term “calling” I mean the secret of who you are meant to ‘be,’ and I am not referring to one’s “vocation,” which is the truth of what you can best ‘do.’ We’ll talk more about that below. But for now, I mean what Mark Twain was referring to when ...
I love ultimate Frisbee. So much. If I could play every day of the week, I would. I just find it so fulfilling and fun because it’s competitive, exciting, and a workout – and it requires digging deep and pushing oneself to run and jump faster, harder, and higher than those around you. For those of you who have never played, allow me to provide some background before I tell ...
None of us like to think about our impending mortality. But I think about it all the time. And for me, it’s a good thing. It helps me. It serves as my decision filter on a daily basis. And so I thought it would be worth exploring the value of this notion, because the years keep going by and our mortality is just—relevant. It’s something we can benefit from keeping ...
If you've known me for a while, you know that each year I try to put together a collage of sorts with images from the Web - which I call my Goals Poster. It's just a visual depiction of the major things I want to do in my life that year, and it helps me to boldly put my hopes and dreams and ambitions "out there" instead of just keeping ...