rejection and success
My colleagues and I were eating dinner with an author when she posed this question: “What do you like least about your job?” I had been working in publishing for several years, and instantly I knew my answer. “I don’t like crushing people’s dreams,” I said. “I don’t like telling them that their manuscript ‘doesn’t meet our needs.’ ”
The Source Of Life
In 2012, thanks to a rapper named Drake and the supercharged vehicle of social media, “YOLO” became a popular acronym. It stands for “You Only Live Once.” Though the message of YOLO is test the limits, it became a justification to live life irresponsibly. The answer to drunk driving, parking illegally, disrespecting parents, and missing class was simply YOLO. Its underlying meaning is that my life is mine and I get to live it how I want to.
the power of beauty
Sunsets. People tend to stop what they are doing to watch them . . . take pictures of them . . . admire their splendor.
adventure time!
As my wife tried to get home from visiting our daughter over the holidays, bad weather shut down numerous flights. After 2 days, she had a fistful of boarding passes for planes that couldn’t leave the ground, and she joined thousands of weary travelers scrambling for places to stay.
preparing the way
On July 21, 2013, media outlets worldwide held their collective breath as they waited for the birth of the child of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The baby was third in line to the British throne, and so when Prince George was born the next day there was hardly a newspaper or news program that didn’t herald the announcement front and center.
unfathomable—yet intimate
I fell at work recently and hurt my leg. Since I make my living largely in the outdoors, I need to be healthy in order to provide for my family. So when the setback occurred, I realized the serious potential financial consequences we were facing.
apathetic
In December 2011, USA Today ran an article that analyzed a group of Americans called the “spiritually apathetic.” Their attitude could be summed up as: “So what?” The article presented the following sad statistics:
what we focus on
The moon has recently been so bright and big that it almost seemed possible to step out my window, onto its surface, and go for a 2 a.m. stroll. It’s beautiful, but its brilliance has been disturbing the rest of our little light-sleeper son who keeps getting up—thinking it’s time for breakfast. On nights like these, it’s hard to believe that the moon is, in fact, dull, lifeless, and dark. Only the reflection of the sun allows us to see it.
when sleep eludes
I tossed and turned on my bed. My heart was troubled and my mind disturbed. I was deliberating a decision that could set my life on a whole new course. In this scary time, I found myself praying: Lord, teach me how to pray!
rainbows and remembering
The sight of a rainbow can trigger many thoughts. Spotting one might conjure up fairy tales of leprechauns and pots teeming with gold.
God’s will and our hopes
Barely a few inches long, the image on the sonogram looked like something from a science fiction movie. With distinctive little nubs for hands and a clearly defined head, I could see the promise of the one who was to be our firstborn. Still unknown were the gender, personality traits, and distinctive qualities to fill out the picture of the now-beating heart. Capturing the image of this little life in the womb, the sonogram pictures were treasures for my husband and me. They reminded us that what we couldn’t see with our naked eye was indeed real, though hidden.
front to back
At the start of the movie Walk the Line, young Johnny Cash is talking with his older brother Jack who is hoping to become a preacher. Johnny is sad because he doesn’t know the Bible like his brother, who said, “If I’m going to be a preacher one day, I gotta know the Bible front to back. I mean, you can’t help nobody if you can’t tell them the right story.”
a dad for Christmas
Most children will ask Santa for an extensive list of toys and treats this Christmas. A study of 2,000 British parents revealed, however, that the majority of children in the UK put a new baby brother or sister at the top of their Christmas list, closely followed by a request for a real-life reindeer. The 10th most popular Christmas wish on the list was a “Dad.”
