On My Mind

A while back, I wrote a piece titled “What Will Matter?” I have continued to think about it—so here is a second batch. There will come a time when your book, This Is Your Life, will sign off with “The End.” A time when the last page on your calendar has been turned. A time […]

October 22, 2019, was the first day of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals. The games weren’t Friday Night Lights for low-income families—the average per-ticket price was $950. Standing-room started at $360; a seat on the outfield deck was $650; a box seat was $2,500; a spot in the elite […]

Noble actions are the children of noble resolutions. Use these thirty Resolutions as seed thoughts, rewording them as needed to fit your circumstances. Today I Resolve to express appreciation to ___________, who has blessed my life. Today I Resolve to brighten every room I enter with a smile. Today I Resolve to be thankful for […]

Knock, knock. “Who is it?” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Yes?” she said, cracking open the door. “Mary?” “Yes.” “Mary, my name is Gabriel. Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. . . . Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth […]

Voltaire said the way to judge a person is by the questions they ask. That, it seems to me, is especially true of questions we ask ourselves. Here are a few that are worth asking. Is anger going to make this better? Some people send our anger thermometer sky-high: callous bosses, crabby salespeople, exasperating know-it-alls, […]

Andy Rooney, best known for his weekly broadcast “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” at the end of CBS’s 60 Minutes, had the gift of saying so much with so few words. He died in 2011, but many of his words live on. In a piece entitled “I’ve Learned . . .” he noted twenty-seven […]

Andy was standing in the dark, staring into space. His son walked up beside him and draped an arm on his shoulder. “Do you remember when she first got sick?” he asked. “You took Britney and me to breakfast and laid a speech on us.” “I did?” “Yeah, you did. You told us that we […]

In Luke 9, Jesus rebuked his disciples for three misguided feuds. A Feud among Insiders (vv. 46–48) Believing that Jesus was going to launch an earthly kingdom, his disciples started arguing about “which of them would be the greatest” in his administration. Homing in on their fuss, Jesus said, “He who is least among you […]

Jesus’ teachings were often clothed as questions. His hearers—at least those who would listen—became self-taught, as they examined themselves under the searchlight of those questions. Most of the questions he asked are as pertinent and penetrating today as they were when he first asked them; thus the title of this piece is “Questions Jesus Asks” […]

The cab driver arrived at the caller’s address and honked. He waited a few minutes, then honked again. Since this was to be the last fare of his shift, he considered just driving away, but instead walked up to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” said a frail, elderly voice. He could hear something […]