"While being young is an accident of time, youth is a permanent state of mind." This from a man who was still designing houses when he died at age 91, Frank Lloyd Wright. What's your state of mind? [tags] young at heart, Frank Lloyd Wright, childlike spirit[/tags] …
Maintain Perspective
Pass the Peace, Please
(Say that five times fast!) We have so many choices on our "menu of life." The freedom we have is such a gift and it's time to order up the best that life has to offer. To be able to do that we have to ask ourselves a very important question... What steals your peace? I caught a minute of author and speaker Joyce Meyer on TV the other day asking that question. She suggested that as soon as you figure out the answer, you can work to proactively avoid those things. …
Whatever You Do, Don’t Cause a Scene
We as a human race tend to take ourselves WAY too seriously. Especially the grown-up faction. The child who would be quite content to wear pajamas and a cape with cowboy boots to church next Sunday does not seem to have "Make sure people don't laugh at me" very high on his list of priorities. But for adults, lots of time and effort is spent doing everything possible to not appear foolish or silly. God forbid someone might laugh at us. As if that would be the worst thing ever. …
Family Dinners: In Praise of Good Parenting
Lately, Kim and I have felt that we've spent a lot of time ranting on bad parenting. A lot of that is attributed to our mission. Although it largely involves helping grown-ups tap into their childlike spirit to create lives that are less stressful and more fun, we also want to help children have good childhoods to look back on. However, anything we will ever be able to accomplish in this arena absolutely pales in comparison to the impact individual parents have in the lives of their own children. It's easy to point out the negative (it's been the bread and butter of the news media for a …
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Dennis Miller on Happiness
Whether you agree politically with Dennis Miller or not, you have to admit that he is quite the wordsmith. Everytime I see him on TV, I find my inner voice reminding my consciousness to "pay attention" and "listen closely." Boy, he's a fast talker. It's fun to listen to him! The other night we were flipping channels and caught the end of his interview on The O'Reilly Factor. O'Reilly asked him about his thoughts on Kiefer Sutherland. …
How You Live
Very few songs summarize our message as well as this one, "How You Live" by Point of Grace. I hope this song inspires you to drink milk from your wine glasses at dinner tonight. Lyrics... …
The Truth is Out There
Chuck Westbrook has a blog called I Hate Your Job. While poking fun at cube life, it offers funny, irreverent, yet practical advice on how you can enjoy your job more (or find another one). He's 23-years-old. Does that make him too young to offer valuable advice to someone in the middle of their career? That's the question Rennie Sloan of Motto Magazine proposed. Here's an excerpt: …
Busy: The New Four Letter Word
Everyone is busy. Enough already. Do you find yourself unknowingly getting thrown into the "busyness" contest? Whether it's at work, with family or acquaintances, people start talking about how busy they are. Before you know it you, too, are spouting how little time you have. For some reason, it seems like the busiest person wins. What a twisted and damaging conversation. I am unofficially making "busy" a bad word, in order to avoid the trap of, not only the aforementioned conversation, but mostly the mentality. It's poisonous. The funny thing is that everyone has the same amount of …
Are You On the Right Track?
Being on the road can be tough. The adventure is fun, but lots of little "stuff" can add up and wear you down. Stuff like lugging heavy suitcases and extra boxes filled with books through the airport...waiting an hour on the runway for some last-minute plane repair to be documented...taking your shoes off for the hundredth time while a uniformed official looks at you suspiciously...being in so many different hotels that you forget which numbered door your room key will open...and trying desperately to catch a few moments of sleep on a red eye flight in a seat that seems more like a sardine can …
An Evening with the Cubs
Well, I wish the Cubbies would have ended the night on a better note, but attending Game One of the the National League Divisional Series in Phoenix last night is an experience Kim and I won't soon forget. We've been in Arizona since Sunday for some speaking gigs. What are the chances that my boys would happen to be opening their playoff push in the exact same city on the day before we fly out, and our hotel is only about 15 minutes from the ballpark? It was an opportunity we couldn't let pass us by, and were able to find a pair of tickets on the internet. I spent more on these tickets than …