Blogger Trish Ryan always makes me think.  Here are a few lines from her reflections on her good friend's recent funeral...A short while ago, a friend posted this quote from St. Francis of Assisi on her wall: “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received–only whatContinue reading "Each Day truly is a Gift from our Creator!"

Several years ago I discovered TED Talks.  It's one of the best discoveries I've ever made ... especially for a guy who spends a lot of his life thinking about the power of words.   Over the years I've watched some phenomenal TED Talks ... some truly outstanding presentations.Three weeks ago a pastor friend recommendedContinue reading "Speak clearly; speak well … it makes a huge difference!!"

When I read the news of Iraq and ISIS and Israel and Gaza and Ferguson, MO ... this is how I feel.

If you know me well, you know one of my strengths is that I'm adaptable.  As my Strengths Finder 2.0 assessment says: "You live in the moment.  You don't see the future as a fixed destination.  Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. Continue reading "Just make the call, for crying out loud…"

The last 10 days I've been up in northern Michigan relaxing and watching the boats come and go along Grand Traverse Bay.  All the big cruisers have names written along the side.  Sometimes it's pretty obvious what the name means; other times it's not.As I walked along the Elk Rapids, MI, harbor one day lookingContinue reading "What would you name your boat?"

Yes indeed, the nuclear power of the gospel in conflict.  I love this analogy and completely concur with this perspective.

The Well of Grief Those who will not slip beneath      the still surface on the well of griefturning downward through its black water      to the place we cannot breathewill never know the source from which we drink,      the secret water, cold and clear,nor find in the darkness glimmering      the small roundContinue reading "A vital, sobering question to all who want to more clearly be a citizen in God’s Kingdom"

Sometimes when I'm talking with people ... including pastors, the group I talk with the most ... I can't really figure out their belief system. So I ask them to complete the following sentences. [I was introduced to this by Coaching4Clergy coach Dr. Mario Garcia.] I've seen this exercise give the person I'm talking with,Continue reading "Trying to clarify a person’s belief system"