I've been thinking about loneliness... I've been wondering -Is everyone else attending a birthday party that I have not been invited to?Is there a fabulous parade going on somewhere that I am missing?Could the circus be in town?Where is everyone?Sometimes loneliness...

I've been thinking about motivation... Malaise - an indefinite feeling of weakness often indicative of or accompanying the onset of an illness; a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being I have been contemplating why I am feeling a general sense of malaise. I noticed...

 I've been thinking about my ancestry... I remember my mother using the phrase, The Wreck of the Hesperus, to describe "a really big mess." She would say: "This house/room looks like the wreck of the Hesperus!" In talking with her recently, I asked her if she knew the...

I've been thinking about roots... My parents, Don and Mary Jo Briggs, have been closely connected to a small town in Iowa from many decades. They both were born around Marcus, Iowa - dad in 1927 and mom in 1930. Marcus recently was given a restored 1929 Model A Ford...

I've been thinking about thoughts... For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) God has given us all the gift of free will. This gift empowers us to take control of the very thing that creates everything about who we are - our thought life. In Who...

I've been thinking about training... My dad grew up on a farm in Iowa. He tinkered and fixed all his life and he did it in a very thorough way. I remember standing next to him in our garage. Little me, dwarfed by his size and strength, focusing on the job in front of...

I've been thinking about influence... What is influence? Do I have it? If I have it, how do I maximize it?It has been said that every action of our lives touches some chord that will vibrate in eternity. If this is the case, then every choice matters and the lives we...

I've been thinking about pain... The Epicurean philosophy, which is deeply embedded in our culture, identifies our desperate attempt to pursue pleasure and flee pain. However, looking into the Bible, we see a very different story in the model of Jesus praying in...

I've been thinking about aging... On my last birthday I turned 61 years old, and someone sent me a card saying I am not aging but saging... I don't know if saging is even a word, but I like it and I've been turning the idea over in my mind. I certainly enjoy the...

I've been thinking about shade... With the rise of the temperatures and the hint of a sizzling summer just around the corner, sitting in the shade with a tall glass of lemonade is mighty inviting. The concept of shade is appreciated by all the cultures of the earth,...