It’s not too often we get an opportunity to have a do-over in life, but on Sunday afternoon, I had a chance to revise a reader’s theater script I’d adapted from a Tolstoy short story almost 15 years ago. The script was published by Eldridge Publishing as part of a book of short readings and program ideas for Christmas. The new version is a definite improvement. Which leads me to wonder if I will feel the same way in 15... Read more

“The candidate who is most positive about our future almost always wins elections.” Seems so obvious, doesn’t it? I heard a commentator mention this last night, and it got me thinking. In all the polling and endless analysis, all sorts of other things are measured. Rarely have I heard the media focus on a candidate’s hopefulness as a cardinal virtue. (And talking about “hope” in terms of audacity, slogans or birthplaces doesn’t count here.) A good political leader is the... Read more

Last year as my mom was dying, I was amazed at how very small the world became for her. There were no more trips for her to the nail salon or flea market, no need for the part-time job or her library card, no interest in the subdivision gossip. There was touch. Presence. Prayer. Only a couple of nurses, my sister and I, and brief visits from 2 of her good friends. And in the end, like a telescope tightening... Read more

This is not the chart. See below. I once read an article with a very arresting visual about child development. The chart in question overlaid graphs tracking an individual child’s physical, social and academic development. The article’s writer made the point that it’s optimal for a child if the lines tracing the various areas of his or her growth run fairly close together. Of course. I remember the single image of a chart for a super-bright, standard height kid with... Read more

Just a couple of new pictures. Indulge me…Grandpa and Gabriel, during our apple-picking excursion. All of the apples were off the trees, so we technically didn’t pick apples. We picked them up off the ground. It looks like Lio is screaming his brains out, but he’s just making a face. Flex your face muscles and try making this face right now. Now, show it to someone else and tell `em Lio sent you. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping... Read more

A pet parakeet wanders the yard of author, blogger, North Park University professor, birdwatcher and Cub fan Dr. Scot McKnight. The other backyard birds were terrified of the bizarre blue visitor’s quick movements and strange birdsong. The parakeet made its home in and around the McKnights’ suburban yard most of the summer, and McKnight watched as the birds’ social order gradually changed: “Instead of being shocked by the odd sounds and sudden flights of the parakeet, they gradually became unfazed…When... Read more

Early this morning, our second grandchild, Lionel Ilan (LEE-o-nel EE-lahn) Valenzuela-Lozano was born. Here’s a few pictures of this beautiful little guy’s birthday: Read more

One of our former pastors (that’s a depressing phrase, but I digress…) had a catchy little way of summarizing spiritual growth. He would tell the congregation that as they followed the Lord, the bumps in the road wouldn’t get smaller, but their shock absorbers would get bigger. It was a folksy metaphor to explain how our growing faith and maturity are increasingly able to absorb big honking trials/challenges and stabilize quickly. While his axiom wildly oversimplifies the complexities of walking... Read more

Is this courage or cowardice? Issue A arises inside an organization. The issue is more than a purely academic one; the way A is resolved will set the organization’s direction in the future. There are sound opinions on both sides of the issue, and is was possible at the beginning of the debate to work toward a thoughtful synthesis of those opinions. But a few key individuals drew immovable battle lines early in the discussion instead of going out for... Read more

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens… Just the kind of images you can count on if you purchase greeting cards at Big Lots, and they certainly made their way into the lyrics of the classic Sound of Music songbook. I wouldn’t put wet flowers or mewling cats into my own Fave Things list. It’ll be very obvious as you read my list below that I’m no songwriter. But I am grateful for (almost all of) the gifts below: –... Read more