Did someone turn up the volume? It seems that everywhere I go, music is blaring, people are talking loudly, (not using their inside voices) and there is just so much commotion. The noise is overwhelming!

Ah, but ‘tis the season. . . with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the rear-view mirror, maybe we can make time for quiet as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  

When I was a kid, the metric system was a big deal. I remember learning how the US was going to join the majority of the world by fully adopting the metric system of measurement. As an early adapter, I was all over it. I studied inches-to-centimeter conversions and centimeters to meters and on and on. I can still see, and smell, ditto sheets (remember those?!) with inches on one side and centimeters on the other.

Now, decades later, we are still using inches and feet.  What happened?

Do you ever feel like an impostor? I do. There are days when, as much as I want to appear confident and wise, deep down inside I feel like the six-year-old version of me in dress-up clothes. 

I have a new friend. He is an early riser like me. A few months ago, as I was on my way to the kitchen for my first cup of morning joe, Eddie was looking in my back window. Eddie is not a stalker; he is an owlet. When I first saw Eddie, he was covered in downy feathers. These days he is much more owl-like with beautiful markings, expansive wings, and big eyes that look directly at me.

Do you ever wish the world would slow down?  I do. As I get older, I find myself yearning for the simplicity and steady pace of one day at a time. I nostalgically think of yesteryear - those days gone by before we had the “conveniences” of today’s world. . . 

What would you think about if you only had a few hours left on this earth?

This is not a bucket list question, but rather when you have the realization your time here is rapidly coming to an end and there is nothing left to do, where will your mind go? What thoughts will you have? 

This past weekend, we celebrated the men and women of the US forces who gave their lives for our county. Thank you. Thank you as well to all of you reading this who have served in the military. Your years of dedication and selfless acts of service are an inspiration. Thank you. 

When was the last time you were so frustrated that you just wanted to throw in the towel?  When “whatever” was so bad you were just done with it?

Last weekend, I did something unusual for me. I was out of town for Spring break and due to limited choices and seasonal travelers, I booked a 9:30 pm return flight to Phoenix. A 9:30 pm Saturday flight is way out of my norm – I am usually in bed and sound asleep by 8:30 pm.

When I was a kid, my family would load up the car each summer and take a road trip. Living in Missouri, we might vacation far west to California, southeast to Florida, or maybe just over to the Missouri Ozarks. Regardless, it took a lot of planning to fit all six of us plus our little chihuahua, Sniffles, our luggage, and the necessary summer adventure gear. It was a BIG deal. The anticipation was huge. 

I don’t know if this is the same for you, but it sure seems like there are a bunch of looming headlines in our 24/7/365 news cycle about faith, church, and spirituality.

As we usher in 2023, I hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas and holiday season. 2022 was quite a year! For many, work, school, and travel returned to a pre-pandemic pace, and yet, I think we can all agree most things are far from ideal.

Ready or not, the Christmas season has begun. The leftover turkey is gone, Christmas songs fill the air and neighborhoods are lighting up with holiday decorations.

Did you, along with more than 4 billion others around the world, watch Queen Elizabeth’s funeral? I did. I was enthralled by the pomp, reverence, and majestic yet bittersweet beauty of it all.

Remember the “Got Milk?” campaign of the nineties? Did you know that it began by focusing on the deprivation of milk instead of just simply putting milk mustaches on famous people?

What is your default mode? As I wake up, my mind immediately spirals into what is not going right and what I need to do to make everything exactly as I want it to be. Next, I begin mental gymnastics, looking for loopholes and shortcuts that will get my desired results with the least amount of effort. In other words, I quickly fall into the wormhole of MY day, MY life, MY wants, MY “needs.”

For the last few weeks, I have been in St. Louis, Missouri, doing little restoration projects as I spend time with family and enjoy the Spring weather and mosquitoes. One such project was to replace the cartridge in a leaky shower.

Each morning Finley, my grand-dog, and I take a walk. We head east for a little over a mile circling the neighborhood, checking out houses, remarking on landscaping (or lack of), and greeting other early risers. Most mornings we see the sun come up, listen to chirping birds and get free strokes (Finley, not me) from the elementary children as they go to school.

How are you doing? No really, how are you? I ask because as I talk with people, young and old, worry, fear, and just all-around concern seem pervasive. Between the horrific situation in Ukraine, rising gas prices, increasing inflation, crazy outbursts, personal family issues, and the residual effects of the pandemic, it feels as though we are at a tipping point. Will things continue to get worse? Will they turn around? Is there light at the end of this tunnel?

Think small. These words are the antithesis of our world today. Shouldn’t we think BIG? Shouldn’t we be influencers with tens of thousands of followers? I mean really, if we are gonna do anything, shouldn’t we go for the gusto?