Today is 38 days from the first anniversary of Dad’s passing. I’ve committed to writing 40 stories about him as that day approaches. Forty Steady Stories

Today is 39 days from the first anniversary of Dad’s passing. I’ve committed to writing 40 stories about him as that day approaches. So here goes…. Forty Steady Stories. Here’s the first one: The Name.

I like to take long walks. With my eyes fixed to the ground that passes beneath my feet, I begin to think about all the things that frustrate me about the world in which I live.

I don't like lima beans. Some people call them butter beans. Doesn't really matter to me what you call them. Either way they have neither a butter taste nor a lima taste—whatever that is.

Over the years (as in decades), i've had a lot of people ask me about the "logo" on my website (also in the signature portion of my emails). Some people see it right away, and others have asked what ancient language it represents. 

Here's the deal…

This maple tree in Maine had every fall color and would have made a beautiful picture — except that it had power lines running right through it. At first I was disappointed, and then I realized what a wonderful snapshot of life it uncovered for my head and heart.

Today, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech turned 51 years old. Today, was also my birthday, and it has become my custom to spend part of my birthday morning listening to Dr. King’s remarkable sixteen minute speech from 1963.

Blogging is like balancing sunlight and shade. Both are great depending on your perspective.

I was sitting with a friend at breakfast recently, and he said something I’ve never heard before. It was a passing comment for him, but it stopped me in my tracks.

We worked most of Saturday in our yard moving rocks, mulch, and dirt. On days like this I take comfort in some 2,600+ year-old words...

While looking for the monk photo (yesterday’s post), I also found this gem from 1993. I’m sitting on a dead limb after climbing up this dead tree overlooking Frontier Ranch. First, I started laughing at the thought of doing that now. Or better yet... what I would say if one of my kids started to climb that tree. 

I came to understand something that summer: one of the ways to get kids to see the incredible life that God offers is to show them how to laugh—at ourselves and others.

While at Wake Forest, we’d occasionally hear a fraternity brother stand up at a Sigma Chi meeting and announce a “Brush with Greatness.” It was a sighting or encounter with a famous person. Well, I’ve had a lot of those in my life. But Tuesday was possibly the coolest one I’ve ever had.

   Are you looking for the frontier?

   Are you looking for a new place to start?

   'Cause if you're searching for the answers to your life

   You can find them at the frontier of your heart

As I look at this picture of the Frontier Ranch sign, it occurs to me that, sometimes, reflections only happen in the rear view. The sign is backwards only because I’m looking back at where I came from to get there.

I think that perhaps one of life’s most underrated pleasures is driving west through a state like Tennessee and having to be somewhere at a certain time. . . and then realizing that you have an extra hour to chill the next morning.