clear communication
Many battles in life stem from false assumptions that are made due to lack of communication. For instance, we share a wall with our neighbors and—since moving in 6 months ago—they’ve been redecorating. The garden, the garage, the bathrooms, the bedrooms; nothing has escaped a hammer, an electric power tool, or a paintbrush.
gentle heart
Recently, I was forced to bring my car to a complete stop on a busy road. A man in front of me had slammed on the brakes of his work truck, interrupting the flow of traffic. He climbed out of his cab, walked to the front of the idling vehicle, and stooped to pick something up. As he passed in front of my halted car, I could see that he was carrying a tiny turtle that he proceeded to place gently at the base of some shrubs far away from the road.
a time to speak
I just don’t know what you want,” he said in exasperation. “Well, if you don’t know after all these years, I guess you never will!” she replied bitterly. “If I do something, you question my motives,” he responded defensively. “If I don’t do anything, you blame me for not trying.” “I’d rather you do something and do it wrong than not do anything,” she said.
spilled out
As I was grading papers at school one day, I received a text from my husband that read, “we r all n.” When I responded “What?” he explained that he had spilled half a gallon of paint on the carpeting in our home office. Fortunately, the carpet was old, and we were planning on ripping it up anyhow. Now we…
static
I love the conveniences of modern technology—especially cordless phones. These devices afford me mobility without the problem of tangled cords. But while I enjoy the freedom, I often have to cope with an irritation—the snap, crackle, and pop of static. These hindrances happen mainly when I move too far away from the phone base. The greater the distance, the more…
same address
A Japanese man living alone in the city of Fukoka noticed that food was disappearing from his fridge. So he installed a security camera which showed someone moving around inside his house while he was away. When the police investigated, they found a 58-year-old woman that had been living in a tiny storage space in the house for almost a…
