Would people around you describe you as "happy" or "moody"? Are you an ACTor or a REACTor? That is, do you set the tone for your life or do you react to the situation? If that's confusing, listen to what a friend said about his late father. "I still miss him and his everlasting smile. Dad would drag home from the bus stop until he spotted us kids watching. Then he'd straighten up and wave and almost run toward home,... Continue reading

After combing through data from a 20-year study of more than 4,700 people, researchers at Harvard University concluded that happiness is contagious. Some of us already figured that out on our own. Ask any husband or wife or child in any family, and we've all lived it out. When Mom or Dad gets up in a bad mood, before long the whole family "catches" it--and vice versa. When one parent has a bad day at work and comes home in... Continue reading

For a change of pace, here's a thought-provoking legend that comes from native American legend. If you're like me, it will keep you thinking. The Changeling Eagle A Native American brave found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of prairie chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the changeling eagle--thinking he was a prairie chicken--did what prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for... Continue reading

Have you thought life felt safer when you were growing up? Most of us have. Why wouldn't we? Every day we see a steady parade of dangers and crises that march past us in our headlines and on our various screens. Over and over. It's easy to get caught up in the bad news and feel apprehensive about our life and where we live and fear for the people we love. Or it may be a long run of problems... Continue reading

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. --Epictetus, 55 A.D.-135 A.D. It took me way too long to grasp the one-size-fits-all wisdom of that short sentence. Years, in fact. Who knows how or when I bought into the lie that "other things" determined the quality of my days and what kind of life I had, almost as if I were a twig floating on an unpredictable stream. Did I know I thought that?... Continue reading

Perhaps the most shocking thing about another school shooting is that we're not so shocked any more. This is the world we live in. Try to make sense of. Weep over. Pray for. Over and over people in the media and Experts of all kinds tell us that whoever the current perpetrator happens to be is "disturbed." Why? Blame it on any of these: "Has a record of being in trouble." "Came from a dysfunctional home." "Grew up without a... Continue reading

My husband and I just celebrated another wedding anniversary, one of many, many Our love story started when a handsome young fella came from afar to his cousin's wedding. He smiled my way a few times and um, got my attention. When he asked to drive me home--and smiled some more--I fell hard. So did he. Soon, as the oldsters put it, we "had it bad." For a couple of years we dated long-distance and at last we married, blissfully... Continue reading

Ever felt stuck in the necessaries of day-after-day? The same-old, same-old gets tiresome, doesn't it? Whatever the demands of our work, sometimes we may feel we've reached our breaking point and we think I can't take it anymore! Except ... we must. Whatever the reason, we simply must keep going and cope with what is, all the while questioning the value of how we spend our days. I remember thinking at one low point that I had been up to... Continue reading

Most of us have wondered about it, at least now and then. Doubt and questions swirl around us: "Okay, if there really is a God, why would I think he cares about me?" "What I know of God is he's more about dos and don'ts than about caring." "Don't talk to me about God. Not when people get shot at music festivals or riding their bikes. Not with little kids getting abused and the world at risk because of climate... Continue reading

Wouldn't life be simpler if the only memories that hung around were happy and we could simply leave the rest behind once-and-for-all? I say this as a recovering second-guesser, mostly of myself. If you're one, too, then you know my typical self-talk: "Oh, for Pete's sake, why didn't I _____________?" "How could I have forgotten ____________?" "Sure, now I remember why that's a no-no with her (or him.) Where was my brain when I needed it?" Whatever the situation, this... Continue reading

Today is the anniversary of 9/11, the day that shook our sense of security and forever changed the way we Americans think. Television replays and photos still shock us and remind us of that day's horror and the sorrowful days that followed. Some ask what good does it does to remember because no one can rewrite one second of that day. Yet we do. And yet we must, if only to remind us why we have so many safety and... Continue reading

If someone in a neon-green jacket pounded on your door and shouted, "Get out now!" what would you want to take with you? Did you answer, "The people I love?" Me, too. Who is ever ready for that? Thousands of Texans lived out that scenario in the last few days as the slow-moving disaster associated with Tropical Storm Harvey grinds on. We can't take our eyes off the surreal footage from Texas. Our hearts ache as we imagine their pain.... Continue reading

When Nick Vujicic speaks--and he does, all over the world--people hang on every word. They can't quite believe that this man is saying what he's saying. Certainly I found that to be true. Some years ago my husband and I heard Nick speak and afterward joined the crowd around the stage. His smile lit up the room. Since then I've seen him on television and just recently on YouTube. Always, I marvel how every day he triumphs over challenges that... Continue reading

Not long ago a friend shared how she starts each day with reading the Bible. "It makes such a difference in my day and how I look at life that I try never to miss it." Our conversation nudged me into remembering when I fell in love with the Bible. My husband and I had just relocated, one of those hard, job-related moves. I never wanted to leave the place we were living. We talked it through, but what would... Continue reading

Everybody wants it, but apparently not many of us can hang onto it. That's strange, isn't it, when bookstores and libraries offer yards of books telling us how, not to mention Google's gazillion experts. But we keep looking. We pore over articles and books about mental health and happy living and serenity. Some are quirky and off-the-wall, easy to discard. Many others offer good advice and sound principles. If you're like me you may have followed somebody's program a few... Continue reading

As I waited in the long check-in line I couldn't help overhearing the interchange between a thirty-something couple just ahead. The petite wife sobbed as she pushed back an errant strand of her long dark hair. Then she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and said, "I just don't want to leave this place. My mom is here and all my friends." "I know, I know," her husband said gently, then wrapped his burly arms around her... Continue reading

Being rich is all about money, right? If you have enough money you've got it made, right? Or maybe not. If that were true all the "rich and famous" folks would have perfect marriages and happy, well-adjusted children. And all the rest of us would be miserable. That's not true, either. Still, it's a question worth thinking about: What spells "rich" to you? Or your children? As always, it comes down to perspective Not long ago I overheard two men... Continue reading

From ... things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! That line from an old Scottish poem always seems to fit, because things that go bump in the night keep happening. Somewhere. To someone. As soon as we hear such a report our next thought is, When will it happen to me? Or someone I love? Sometimes it's not halfway around the world but close enough to hurt. Christians are not immune to fear and questioning When... Continue reading

Someone wise said the only people who know all about rearing kids are the ones who never had any. I found that to be true and I'll bet you have, too. Not long after we hold our first child any illusion that little ones sort of fit into our plans vanishes like a puff of smoke. Babies, children of any age, really, change everything. Being a mom--or a dad--often feels like groping our way through a cave with barely a... Continue reading

That's a question worth considering because it applies to all human relationships, the workplace and even school classrooms. By now I've lived long enough to understand we often find what we're looking for. Does that sound too simplistic? Read on. This often-told story is said to be true and it carries a timeless universal message. Here's my version, all names fictional. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Shortly before school commenced for the year brand-new teacher Angie White visited the school... Continue reading

No matter who we are, regardless of our age or life situation, we all share the same challenge: Sometimes life is hard. As Christians we believe God's promise in Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." --NLT We take comfort in that promise and yet ... sometimes we feel very alone. Time to plug in another... Continue reading

Have you ever doubted your ability to give your children what they need? Most of us have. Then it's good to remind ourselves about individuals who overcame big challenges and reared solid families. My favorite example is Sonya Carson. I've admired her ever since her younger son, Ben--yes, that Ben Carson--held our convention audience spellbound as he told of his growing-up years. Sonya coped with challenges most of us can't imagine. She only completed Grade 3 in school At age... Continue reading

Do you drag around negative messages you can't get rid of? Often they trace back to childhood, but they still impact our lives, even years later. Since every parent comes equipped with human failings, no one ever will have a perfect childhood. Family flaws affect each individual child differently. So what are we to do with those wrong impressions that weigh us down? It starts with recognizing them for what they are. I know a man who grew up with... Continue reading

That's the question of the day in these United States Ask it either way and a one-word answer will fit: "Plenty!" Right now feelings run high and arguments swirl on all sides. Even friends and family members walk on eggs around each other, afraid to voice their opinions out loud. Listen to any news broadcast or talk show and it seems more time goes to complaining over what needs fixing than in commending what works. You might say it often... Continue reading

Whether this lovely story is fact or folklore, it has a message for us as we face the challenges of life The mother of a young son, let's call her "Amelia," read in her morning paper that world-famous pianist Igor Paderewski was giving a concert in their city. Right away she telephoned the box office to reserve two tickets. She had good reason to want those tickets. The night before, her otherwise- sweet son, "Johnny," had marched out to the... Continue reading