Jack sits and draws diligently on a star-shaped sticky note to add to our collection on the window. He’s thankful for COOKIES. Can I have one more? He is softly singing, “Let the Glory of the Lord” as he writes down his thank-you thoughts. As we wait for the last batch of chocolate chip cookies to finish in the oven,…
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I was able to convince my family to an evening on the beach. Steal away. Drive 48 minutes. Eat food we wouldn’t tolerate any other place. And we were rewarded with feet in the sand, warm water and a gentle breeze on the shore of this majestic fresh water Great Lake. We all caught sight of a Tall Ship…
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Four weeks ago she buried her daddy. A glorifying and Godly-gentle passing of his earthly life into the life we all feebly imagine. Natural and blessed, he went after a long life of honest, beautiful, unconditional, limitless love. But it still hurts. She has always been His Little Girl. His only littlest Little Girl. Throughout the heart-pain of saying Good…
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Parker Palmer teaches: In “Living The Contradictions” we refuse to flee from tension but allow it to occupy the center of our life. And why would anyone walk this difficult path? Because in doing so we may receive one of the great gifts of life – the transformation of contradiction into paradox. The poles of either/or, the choices we…
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She moved the pillow to the center of the bed: submission to the truth. He is with Jesus and her life is changed. How can she be happy that he’s gone? How can we celebrate the joy of heaven when we have such guttural pain in our body? It’s the most ultimate choice that we must work through in our…
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What do you do about the gifts you’re given? …. in building relationships with others? What are your priorities? does it show? Can we tell?
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Authenticity isn’t the complete story; it’s merely the place to begin. There’s usually more than one way to be authentic and more than one truth about you that can be proven, or elevated as defining. But what is it that really matters? Sometimes getting to the truth is the hardest work; but once you’ve come to that a-ha place of…
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Yes, it’s that awesome. Yes, it’s that difficult. Yes it’s that important. Whether it’s holding our temper, our words, our panic, our fear… our reaction to a situation we don’t like or didn’t anticipate demonstrates our intention to be adult, loving, professional, God-glorifying. I constantly learn this in my work, in my parenting, and of utmost importance, my marriage and…
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Two hour delay in the start of the school day because of ice. Wild. While we slept He gently coated our entire world with a blanket of ice. He cleared the sky of clouds and opened the dawn with a fresh miracle of contrasts and brightness. The dazzling spring sun blasted through the forest that shelters my front door, creating…
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Rapid Times are those tricky parts in this exciting river of my life with particularly significant events through which I need to carefully navigate. They require anticipation, balance, experience and knowledge. Rapid Times have all the trappings of a typical river run, with varying degrees of difficulty and exhilaration and subsequent euphoria or heart-change. They are usually tons of fun;…
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The idea has resided in the back of my brain that a pearl is formed inside an oyster by the single intrusion of a grain of sand that has been transformed into a precious pearl. Never mind the need to study where these ideas come from, because it’s quite likely that it came from a Gary Larsen cartoon. But when…
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So… what is your brand’s doctrine? Would it make a good study as a theological exercise? Would they find a clear and truthful pathway to the voice that they hear inside your office walls and out in the world-at-large? If we studied your brand would we find a sound framework of behavior that would tell us how you think? Whether…
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Which Big Ideas are the right ideas for your business? It is only in the honestly clarified essence of a brand that the best plan can be defined. Letting go of the tempting promotions and the copy-cat creative is difficult. But as in all things that involve deeper trust, presenting a consistent, authentic brand character is equally challenging and rewarding.