Helping Children Through National Tragedies

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“Did you hear that children my age probably died in that tornado today, Daddy?” Those were the first words out of my eight-year-old daughter’s mouth when I got home from work last night. I can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up in a day so filled with tragedy AND instant media coverage. When I was eight, I felt stressed about parent-teacher conferences, a bully at my school named Curtis, and selling Babe Ruth candy bars to raise money for my baseball team. My children are … [Read more...]

Men, Friendship, and Swimming Upstream

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Each man needs a solid brother or two, yet this type of friendship isn’t easy to cultivate today. When the television was invented and placed in every house on the block, men began to spend less time outside. Personal computers allow them to shop, bank, and pay bills online. Facebook, Twitter, and Smartphones have framed their interactions with friends, constraining their encounters to 140 characters or less. Sociologist Robert Putnam wrote a book called, The American Porch: An Informal … [Read more...]

Dr. King – A Painfully Uncomfortable Example

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Like us all, yet in his own, serious ways, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a flawed man. Yet, he is one of my heroes. What I most admire about him is his courage to speak the truth in love, showing respect to those who disagreed with him. We were a divided nation, and Dr. King knew his work would likely cost him his life. But, like Daniel, Martin Luther King would not bend his back or turn from the lion’s den; he kept speaking truth in love with respect. Why? He answered that question once in a … [Read more...]

Resisting “Staggerment” This Christmas

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I’m losing sleep at night. The last time the trailer for “The Hobbit” flashed across my television screen, I tried counting sheep, drinking warm milk, and taking a hot bath, and I still couldn’t fall asleep. December 14 can’t come soon enough. Taste for yourself: There’s a part of Tolkien’s book that holds a timely warning for us this Christmas season. Bilbo Baggins sneaks into the lair of the dragon, Smaug. He sees the gold and jewels layering the floor of Smaug’s cave, … [Read more...]