When my soon-to-be best friend Hunter moved into the house three doors down, we both acquired the brother that neither of us had. We found a partner in crime. When the Little Harpeth River flooded in the late March and April, we would sneak the pool floats out of my garage and raft down the […]
Neither one of my nieces has developed a “filter.†You know, that social apparatus which keeps most of us from saying rude, uncomfortable, or politically incorrect things in polite company. Emery, the older one, will say things like “Mommy, your breath is stinky,†or “Why is that lady so big?†Merrill, the younger one, has […]
Certain experiences mold us differently than we would perhaps have chosen. We don’t have the luxury of God’s power and perspective. We don’t have a hand in picking the people and manipulating the forces that will make us. While in our nascent state, we have no Olympian detachment that would enable us to see our […]
My friend Eric sent me this. I can remember threatening to run away and throwing some things into a duffel bag, but I’m not sure if I wrote a note. Did you ever threaten to run away? Do you remember the reason? Make us all laugh in the Comments section below.
When we were growing up, my two sisters and I weren’t allowed to watch several television shows. Married with Children had bad language and crass humor. The Simpsons was a little too irreverent for my parents’ taste. Friends had all the wrong goodies: promiscuity, children out of wedlock, divorce, profanity, a casual attitude toward pornography, […]
My mom tells a story about picking me up from Sunday School. My teacher met her at the door and said, “I need to show you something.†Those words would make any parent nervous. Had her son thrown feces against the wall? Had he tied up one of the other kids in the class? When […]
Three Saturdays ago, Megan was on her way out of the house to do hair at a wedding. In the bottom left-hand corner of our front yard a patch of flowers had come into full bloom. One tall, canary yellow iris caught Megan’s attention. “Baby, come look at this flower!†It came up to my […]
This is a long post—one of my longest ever. I’m warning you up front because I want you to commit to reading the whole thing. Why? Because I share two of the most important lessons that I have ever learned, not just about taking initiative but about leading a deeply meaningful life. I thought about […]
Have you ever heard the term “born salesmanâ€? For example, “Todd is doing really well slinging phones at Verizon. He’s a born salesman.†Calling someone a salesman can sound like an insult. We’ve got too many negative connotations to associate with salesmen: the used car salesman with a big smile, greasy comb-over, and clip-on tie […]
