Serve by Design

Karter Andrew, our seventh grade and handsome second-born grandson, lives with his parents, an older brother, and a little sister in beautiful New Mexico. He loves sports, pestering his siblings, and enjoys chasing around all five of the household dogs! Karter recently made an interesting observation. He asked his dad, “Have you noticed that when you call Sophie (the family’s six-year-old Golden Doodle), the other dogs follow her?” His dad, Reece, replied, “That’s FOMO,” and you know what that means! Karter admitted, “I actually don’t!” (I also agreed!) Reece explained, “FOMO is an acronym for the “Fear Of Missing Out!” Follow the Leader! This abbreviation is short for a mental and emotional state that arises from being anxious about what might be going on around a person due to non-involvement. I cannot tell you how often this simple question, “What are you doing?” has come up in day-to-day family life. You will hear this inquiry coming from a curious, and in many instances, a younger...

“Don't worry about people God has removed from your life. He heard conversations you didn't. Saw things you couldn't and made moves you wouldn’t.”   I first saw this quote a couple of years ago and it was credited to the contemporary Christian music artist, Toby McKeehan (known as TobyMac #SpeakLife, Instagram). I recently tried to research and confirm its source without success. Even though I continue to regularly see these musings on motivational posters and plaques, I have concluded they are the reflections of an anonymous person. I don’t know all the reasons why these phrases are so intriguing to me and speak both comfort and conviction, but they do! Image credit: Potjanum Surirug vecteezy.com Over the years of my life, I have lost loved ones to death and experienced broken relations with close friends. There have been times when I have questioned, “Why?”   The counsel not to worry has been my challenge. And the feelings of guilt over what I should have or should not ...