Who taught you what you know?
What proficient skills do you possess because, once upon a time, someone had the patience to start from scratch and teach them to you?
Have you said “thank you”?
As I sit here composing this column it occurs to me that my fingers are quickly, and fairly accurately, navigating the “QWERTYUIOP” keyboard […]

It’s 8:27 AM. I’m running 5 minutes late. Grab the keys, pull the door shut behind me and hit the garage door button on the way out. The motor drones and plays the familiar tune of creaking and rolling and lifting, the morning anthem that starts my day.
A double glance in the rear view mirror (I’ve heard the stories about people backing before looking) tells […]

Thursday morning westbound on Loop 289. It’s school morning drive time. They’re in the back seat, munching on a Granny Smith apple. So far we’ve discussed what Jesus is doing in heaven right now, where He’s sitting up there and is He tall enough to step right over the city of Lubbock.
The girls and I have a way […]

Out of the elevator and rounding the corner on the 2nd floor of Carillon House, Emma spots her first.
“Daddy, look! There’s Hazel!” Annie and Emma take off running to give her a hi and a hug.
At the other end of the long hall, sitting in her wheelchair, is Hazel. She came here a couple months […]

In a letter written to Arthur Greeves and dated December 29, 1935, C.S. Lewis penned the following thoughts on the topic of friendship:
“Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think […]

For Annie and Emma and me, one of our favorite places to eat is Rudy’s BBQ.
My first experience with Rudy’s was in Austin, Texas while visiting with our friends Andy and Lynn Neillie and Ron Sciarro. At Rudy’s, your plate is a sheet of waxed paper spread out on a picnic table. Brisket, ribs, sausage, […]

The rooms on the 2nd floor of the care center horseshoe around the dining area and nurses station. A broken hip is the admission ticket for most of the people here. Some are recovering from heart problems or surgery. Some are going through physical therapy, counting the days till they gain enough strength to return home and begin living independently. For others, afflicted with Alzheimer’s, […]

In demonstrating Saladmaster cookware I have fun showing off the Saladmaster machine. Invented back in 1946 by a man named Harry Lemmons, it’s an amazing food processor that is unique in its simplicity, efficiency and design.
One thing I show customers is what it can do with a stalk of celery. Everyone’s least favorite part of celery is […]

The 1976 movie “Gumball Rally” is about an illegal coast to coast road race that starts in New York City and ends in Los Angeles. If you’re a fan of fast cars and road rally racing, it’s an entertaining film. Car buffs who thrill to the sounds of performance engines say it’s especially fun to watch with […]

My friend Alan and I were leaving the Lubbock Breakfast House after a late morning business meeting. Our “thanks for your time, see you next week” was interrupted by yelling.
We looked up to see a man screaming at his kid.
The dad was a barrel chest with a flat top haircut. Movie casting would have made him […]

Alexander Whyte said…
“The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.”
That is certainly true when it comes to our devotional relationship with God, otherwise known as “quiet time”. It has to be one of the Christian’s most popular New Year’s resolutions, “To read my Bible through and spend more time with God.” So we […]

Under a pile of blankets, Annie and Emma, dressed in their soft flannel pink and green polka dot pajamas, were snug in their bed. All I could see were their smiling faces. On the other side of the bedroom window, a nippy 29 degree night.
“Tell us a story, Daddy! Tell us a real one about you when you were […]

While it may be impossible for anyone under age 25 to comprehend, once upon a time there was no Internet. The phrase, “I’ll just buy it online” would have been as nonsensical as “I’ll just buy it on triangle.” Today’s tech savvy kids send their parents an email, complete with hyperlinks to websites with the lowest […]

A couple years ago I was working in the Team Shop during a Phoenix Suns game. During the halftime rush I saw an elderly gentleman looking at my name badge.
“Hi there, Todd! How’s it going?”
“Great! How’s it going for you?”
“Fantastic! I’m 87 years old and I love my job!”
“Your job?”
“Yep. I’m 87, I’m a commercial realtor and I love […]

My neighbor got a dog a couple weeks ago. A little lap dog that the veterinarian thinks is about 2 years old. It’s a Papillon (PA-pee-yon). I’d never seen one in person before. As you likely know, Papillon is French for “butterfly”. The breed is so named because their ears look like butterfly wings.
I asked […]

I once worked with someone from Bermuda. He was very outgoing and kind toward his co-workers, even the people who weren’t easy to get along with.
One day I commented on this. “I’ve noticed how friendly you are to everyone. Even the people who aren’t very nice.”
His answer was insightful. With a big smile and a delightful […]

Smile.
Crack a joke.
Help the carry out person wrangle a couple stray carts. Write a real paper and pen note to a former teacher telling them what you learned from them. Call your parents and tell them you noticed how much smarter they got after you went to college.
Hold the door for someone.
Let the person behind you […]

Ever see something that makes you wonder, “What’s the point?”
It’s really windy here in Lubbock. Which is to say the Pope is Catholic, water is wet, the Grand Canyon is deep, and the Minnesota Vikings still haven’t won a Super Bowl.
If Rodgers and Hammerstein weren’t able to obtain the financing for “Oklahoma!” they could have staged the musical “Lubbock” because […]

Some time ago during one of my kids’ elementary school events I was walking the halls observing the latest student created art and literary projects displayed on the walls. One was by some third graders who were given the assignment to write about what they thought their future would look like. All were entertaining to […]

In the aftermath of my relocation to Texas I’ve spent evenings going through all the boxes in the garage, merging and purging as the items dictate. I think it was Erma Bombeck who said, “When you see how quickly things accumulate on their own, you wonder why you bother to save anything on purpose.”
Among the boxes I came […]

There are some differences between this place I’ve been for a month and Phoenix, the place I was for the past 14 years. For starters, Lubbock is more than ten times smaller. Had I come here straight from the farm, it would have seemed like a big city. But moving from 4 million to 220,000 […]

If someone gave you a ticket to spend a day anywhere in the United States, where would you go?
I’d be on a plane to Chicago before you could say “deep dish pizza”.
Several years ago I had opportunity to attend a preaching/teaching conference at Willow Creek Church with my friend and pastor Duane Cross. When it […]

Recently I read a compilation of actual prayers offered up to God by children. They were funny and refreshingly candid. Like Angela, age 8, who said, “Dear God, could you give my brother some brains? So far he doesn’t have any.” Or “Dear God, thanks for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weather man.”
One […]

Years ago my good friend Fred told me about a delightful conversation he had with his then 3-year old grandson, Nathan. Nathan was just about to have another birthday.
“Grandpa, I don’t want to be 4. I want to stay 3.”
“Why is that?”
“Because after you turn 4, then you turn 5.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Because when you turn […]

9:45 AM on Friday, June 8th at Aqua-Tots Swim School in Mesa, Arizona. Ron was working on his laptop while Paul and I were sitting at the meet and greet desk behind the glass.
A guy in a faded, forest green golf shirt walked up to the window. He looked a little frazzled.
Paul slid the window open. “Hi. How can I […]