Growing up, Nat King Cole—along with Johnny Mathis—was almost synonymous with Christmastime. I could hardly wait to pull the 33⅓ album from its sleeve and place it on the family console, letting the warm crackle announce the season. Maybe that’s why Nat King Cole recently crossed my mind. It is Christmastime, after […]
Isn’t it funny how simple observation can open the door to deeper reflection—and, if I’m attentive, to introspection? On my return from an all-too-brief visit with my daughter in Southern California, I was struck by the dense fog blanketing the Central Valley. The contrast between the world swallowed by that […]
Sale, sale, sale! Buy, buy, buy! It’s that time of year when the television seems packed with longer commercial breaks and the inbox fills with more ads than actual mail. Everything shouts the same message: Look! Want! Buy! It was ABBA who sang: Money, money, moneyMust be funnyIn the rich man’s […]
“And When He Had Given Thanks…” That’s how verse 24 of 1 Corinthians 11 opens. With those words, Paul begins correcting a young Christian community in Corinth—a church that had already wandered far from its calling. We don’t need to unpack the entire list of issues here, but it was extensive: divisions, […]
One thing is certain: whether as a parent, a husband, or just a person trying to make it through the day, listening is harder than it sounds—at least for me. Too often, communication is treated as if it’s mostly about talking. Spoiler: it’s not. The older I get, the more I […]
You know that feeling when a trip comes to an end—half joy, half ache? That quiet pause when the adventure is over, and you’re about to leave behind the places and people that touched you? That’s what I call melancholy travel. I love travel. Really, I do. The new sights, the […]
Travel can be tiring—really tiring. The packing. The journey to the airport and train stations. The shuffle through security. Boarding. Upright seatbacks. Cramped legroom. The long line for the (ugh) lavatory. Then you finally arrive—unpack, eat, try to sleep (not enough), get up, see this and that… and repeat. What I […]
When Travel Teaches You More Than You Expected Travel has a funny way of teaching lessons you never planned to learn. Sometimes it happens through a breathtaking view or a quiet museum. Other times, it’s through a single sentence from someone you’ve just met. That’s what happened to my wife […]
Lessons from a Journey Through Four Countries and One Kingdom It’s been an interesting season of travel. Though I’ve journeyed a bit over my six-plus decades, most of it has been within the United States. Europe, until now, had remained unexplored territory. Well, as the saying goes, there’s a first […]
“I’m kinda busy.”“I can’t right now.”“I’m sorry, but…” I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard—or said—some version of these words. Life has a way of getting in the way of life, doesn’t it? And before the standard defenses are offered, let me be clear: I truly understand that […]
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