Your Relationships

The Power of a Father's Smile - #7420

Friday, June 19, 2015

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It's important for fathers and sons to do things together, right, like my son helping me with the yard work so we can bond, of course. I remember one day when my oldest son was probably just about five. It was a hot day. I was mowing and my son was following around after me clipping. I looked over to him and I smiled. About five minutes later he came over and yelled over the mower, "Daddy, could you please do that again?" I said, "Could I do what again, son?" He said, "Daddy, could you smile at me again? Your smile keeps me going."

Compassion in a Breakable World - #7414

Thursday, June 11, 2015

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I checked my suitcase at the airport, and then I see it disappear as the conveyor belt carries it beyond the curtain into that black hole called the luggage zone. I sometimes wonder how my bag is going to be handled. Now, I don't know exactly what baggage handlers do, but I do know that Bertha, (that's the name I gave my suitcase since we spend so much time together) may get tossed or buried, or squished.

The Man of the House - the Family Drummer - #7404

Thursday, May 28, 2015

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Back in Kindergarten we all had to play a little instrument in this band our teacher put together. I got to feeling the kids with the musical ability got nice things to play. Looking back, I realize that those of us who were musically incompetent were assigned to "play the sticks." I got two drum sticks. All we had to do was hit the floor with them. See? Yeah, it didn't take a whole lot of ability.

What Matters Most When Things Are Out Of Control - #7369

Thursday, April 9, 2015

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Oh, the hazards of shopping in a mall! Let's see, overheating your credit card, maybe a pick pocket, an occasional mugging in the parking lot, being run into by a ship. What? Well, that's exactly what happened a while back to about a thousand Christmas shoppers at the Riverwalk Shopping Complex in New Orleans. Navigating the most dangerous stretch in the Mississippi River near there, this freighter suddenly lost power. It's unbelievable! In or near its path were two cruise ships holding 1,700 people, and a riverboat casino with 800 people on board. The potential was there for hundreds of fatalities.

Unpacking Before You Get Home - #7311

Monday, January 19, 2015

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My family calls it an idiosyncrasy, or maybe they say idiot-syncrasy? I'm not sure, but no matter whenever we have been on a trip, and whenever we get in, I've got to unpack as soon as we get home. Oh, yeah, it might be 2:00 in the morning, but there's Ron putting his clothes in the closet where they belong. Making sure his toothbrush is where it needs to be the next morning. Putting my books back where they came from. Everybody else is zonked! They're in a coma, and here's Mr. Compulsive busily restoring order. See, I'm not home until I'm unpacked.

The Price of a Runner's High - #7309

Thursday, January 15, 2015

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My friend, Bob, is a pastor, and he's also a jogger. Which some would say, he's a jogger but otherwise normal. Well one day he went jogging and he came home and he started to do some work at his desk. He started to write his address on some bills he was paying, except his wife noticed it wasn't his address. And that was her first clue. It turned out that Bob had suffered a mild stroke while he was running.

Never Playing Defense - #7303

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

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My wife is not your typical American television viewer. In fact, she seldom watches it. And secondly, when she does, I often find her watching nature shows. One time when I walked in there was this program on whales. It did make her blubber a little bit, but I did learn a lot watching it with her. It was about how this killer whale is really not as vicious as you might think he is, even with the name "Killer Whale." They actually had footage of a killer whale lying in the water with all these smaller animals playing all over him. Isn't that cute! The commentator said, "The killer whale is usually pretty gentle." Well, if so, he can afford to be gentle. He knows no one can threaten him, because I don't think anybody's stronger.

One Stone at a Time - #7296

Monday, December 29, 2014

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We were sitting in the living room of a Native American family who were among the few Jesus-followers in their entire tribe. That's not uncommon. And Mom was telling us about how Jesus entered their family. Her grandmother had been a priestess in the tribal religion until she discovered what she called "the black book" and discovered the love of Jesus Christ. She was the first Jesus-follower in her family. And the village leaders didn't like it at all. In fact, when people decided to follow Jesus in that tribe, they expelled them from the village. So, suddenly, their family had no home.

The Greatest Gift a Parent Can Give a Child - #7289

Thursday, December 18, 2014

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The Christmas season always involves these big shopping decisions, "What should we get for the kids?" Well, our children over the years were always helpful enough to provide us with a list. Now it's kids and grandkids. And now it's our grandchildren that really have great lists.

The Couple, the Need, the Miracle - #7285

Friday, December 12, 2014

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A boy from the south side of Chicago; a girl from the Ozarks and they lived happily ever after. It's the story of my wife and me. As we approached our wedding day several years ago, (ahem!) it was a week after our college graduation. We had a lot of love, but no money to speak of.

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