Serve by Design

I rarely use an alarm clock except on those occasions in the middle of the night when we are trying to make a 6:00am flight out of the St. Louis airport two hours away. One of us sets the alarm feature on our smartphones to make sure we get to our destination on time. I do know there is a snooze button on some alarm clocks that can ease the pain, if only temporarily, that accompanies a two or three o’clock a.m. wake-up time. I’ve always been afraid to try that feature out! Image: Shutterstock Recently, we were dispatched to our daughter’s house to join other family members in saying goodbye to her twin sister (our other daughter!) and her family as they headed home to New Mexico. When we arrived, everyone was up and moving around awaiting the final departure. They were bathed, dressed and waiting for the pics to document the occasion. Yes, some were a little blurry eyed, but not our youngest grandson, Dawson! This boy is always good with his words. Because of his propensity for story...

Just the other day, a busy professional at church lamented to me in our conversation, “I’m not sure I have the bandwidth to take on another responsibility right now!” I wanted to interrupt, “How did I not get the memo on this?” I fashion myself as a humble writer and wordsmith and I am always on the lookout for another new word. Yet, I had just heard a word that I thought I knew used in a completely different way! Fiber Optic Technology Credit: freepik.com This is not the first time that I have been blindsided about the “definitional drifting” of certain words. I remember several years ago how a college-aged son had asked me, “Dad, do you know what “issues” are?” I answered, “I think so. Like political or social issues in society?” “No,” he replied. “I mean like she or he has issues! You know, as in personal, psychological issues.” I could only reply, “Well, that’s interesting. I haven’t heard it used like that!” Well, thanks to that businessman, I now have another word, bandwidth, t...

Our daughter, Michelle, made a post recently on social media. She does this a lot as she encouragers so many of her friends and contacts. She is a homeschool mother of four these days after spending fourteen years in the public schools teaching math. She has a small business on the side that promotes a healthy lifestyle. She serves as a part time administrative assistant for her church and serves another not-for-profit business as well. She is busy and productive! I’m proud of her! Dawson Michael In the "Lap of Learning!" She wrote this “on the fly” a few days ago, “Today, we untraditionally learned! We took our school supplies in the car and did our work while we waited for the boys’ haircuts to be finished! This is what I want – learning whenever and however! Learning anytime and every time!” I love how she “practices what she teaches!” The other night or shall I say, early morning, I was awakened with some mild discomfort from my osteoarthritis. I decided to spend the ti...

We have just turned the corner on a New Year. I have transitioned to a new desk appointment book and hung a new wall calendar in the kitchen for doctor appointments and Monique's teaching schedule. We even received a unique calendar from our young and gracious server at the local Hibachi Grill and Chinese-American buffet. The latter has found its place on a wall downstairs near my library and sermon files. The server seemed so proud when she came to bring us the check after our meal the other day and then surprised us with this mystery box labeled with Chinese symbols. I thought at first it might have contained a fresh supply of chop sticks and was glad it didn't because I get a cramp in my hand each time I try to use them! Upon closer observation, I could see that there were words in English at the bottom of the box indicating that this contained a wall calendar. I was pleasantly surprised by the colorful picture of a snaking dragon-like creature that was depicted on the...