The most recent post began a four-day series on leaving a legacy as an earthly father. Every dad leaves a legacy. The only question is what kind. The first step to leaving a positive legacy is to love your wife. For some readers that already has not worked out. That does not mean that you cannot leave a good legacy. There are many ways to redeem the father/child relationship. Here is part two of the series. The second part of leaving a legacy that endures is to be an encouragement to your kids. Paul wrote this simple instruction to the church at Colossae.  Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. The Message translates this verse  like this…. Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits. I cannot remember hearing a lot of teaching on that verse over the years. It is really easy in this success mad culture to discourage your children. Nearly
Continue reading...

Humor writer Dave Barry compiled a list of things it took him 50 years to learn. I have selected a handful of Barry’s observations.  1. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-savings time. 2. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip. 3. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background,is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers. 4. There is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.” 5. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.” 6. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously. I am also a slow learner. But one thing I have learned in my journey is that every
Continue reading...

Warning: The following post may (or, sadly, may not) contain humor. This blog was produced in a program where irony and satire are processed. May contain sarcasm fragments. If you are allergic to humor or attempts at humor please avoid this product.  A potentially incendiary topic came up again as I rummaged through the Healthy Living section of the Dallas Morning News. I had ventured onto the thin ice of male and female brain differences in an earlier post. Having survived that article I am demonstrating the lack of male brain development by going there again. My bride and her female co-conspirators often forward e-mails that point out the unique qualities of men. For example… Question: What is the difference between men and government bonds? Answer: Government bonds will mature. My only defense is that the grey matter of the average male truly is different. Some of the key findings include that, on average, men’s brains are about 10 percent larger than their female counterparts. Why? Most scientists believe
Continue reading...

Yesterday was spent at the Slow Drip Spa as Joni received her next to last chemo treatment. We have learned so much over the past 16 months. An earlier story called the Cancer Chronicles linked some of the blogs that were written during this difficult journey. One of the more subtle but most important lessons is the subject of today’s humble ramblings. A country song reminded me again about a critical lesson that we learned just a few months down the long and winding road of treatment. Tracy Lawrence has a hit recording about friendship. The song is titled “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are” and Lawrence notes that some friends step up when there is a need. Run your car off the side of the roadGet stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhereGet yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your backNeed a floor need a couch need a bus fare This is where
Continue reading...

I am not a crier. So it was a bit out of character when the tears started flowing yesterday as I drove through the canyon in downtown Dallas. I blame Lindsay for this event. Lindsay is my bride’s cousin who moved to Texas recently. She already loved country music so that saved us some time to indoctrinate her. We love having her in Big D but she is going to have to stop introducing me to songs that make driving dangerous. Lindsay told us about a song that we just had to hear. So I downloaded it to the trusty iPod and fired it up as I drove to work yesterday. The song is called Tough and it is performed by Craig Morgan. If you know much about our past year you will quickly see why this song had the Old Yeller/Field of Dreams effect on the eyeballs. The lyrics start innocently enough… She’s in the kitchen at the crack of dawn Bacon’s
Continue reading...

Shannon Spaulding studied and worked for twelve years to reach the top of her class at Jacksonville’s Samuel W. Wolfson High School. For achieving that academic achievement the Florida teen addressed her fellow graduates at the recent commencement ceremonies. I doubt that she suspected that her twenty minute address would fuel a national debate. First, some background on the story. This report is from writer Doug Hunington of christianpost.com. A high school valedictorian in Jacksonville, Fla., recently created a stir among attendants at her graduation when she shared about her faith in God and Jesus Christ throughout most of her 20-minute speech. Shannon Spaulding received mixed reactions for the advice she offered fellow graduates of Samuel W. Wolfson High School during her commencement speech last Friday evening, which included accepting Christ into their lives. While many expressed how her message was inappropriate for the setting, a majority of the audience seemed to agree with her message, applauding loudly throughout the speech. “The
Continue reading...

A song by Brandon Heath resonated with me recently. The song is called “I’m Not Who I Was” and that should describe any person who has decided to follow Jesus Christ. It certainly describes me. I am not who I was forty years ago or twenty years ago or even one year ago. This journey with Jesus cannot be status quo. You are either going forward or backward. Most of us have done both at various times during the journey. I have made a lot of mistakes over the thirty-eight years of my fumbling, bumbling, stumbling walk with Jesus. So the lyrics by Brandon Heath echo my own experience. I wish you could see me now I wish I could show you how I’m not who I was I used to be mad at you A little on the hurt side too But I’m not who I was I found my way around To forgiving you Some time ago But I never got
Continue reading...