Category: Thursday Thoughts

Mary Kay and I have some dear friends who have spent the last 25 years investing in people.  I know of few people who have given more time, energy and financial resources to helping people (most often Christians) overcome obstacles, traumas and misfortune in their lives.  We met several weeks ago, and they discouragingly asked…

The recent attempted assassination of the Presidential candidate Donald Trump stirred up a variety of emotions and memories in me. My mind went back to memories and emotions from 60 years ago.  I was 9 to 16 years old from 1963 to 1970.  During these seven years, first JFK, then Malcolm X, next was MLK,…

On our vacation last month, my daughter-in-law asked me what good books I was reading. I sheepishly said I haven’t been reading much lately (as I wrote about this last week—Too Busy to Think).  I realized, again, my deep thinking is born out of my reading which challenges me to think differently.  The reading surely…

We became official citizens of South Carolina now that we have our voter registration, driver’s license and license plates! Much of my life these past three months has been focused on taking care of the important and urgent details right in front of me. However, in the last few days, I have noticed my thinking…

It may not surprise you that during the last two or three months Mary Kay and I experienced a lot of stress, and therefore we have had to work on our communication as well as our consideration of each other.  Any season of stress can strain a relationship, especially in the weaker areas of that…

We have been in our new home for a month. As I reflected on the process of selling our home and moving away from family and friends in Orlando to South Carolina, I realized we went through five distinct outlooks regarding the world around us.  We were settlers in Orlando.  We had lived there for…

What really gets you frustrated?  Who frustrates you? I am intrigued by the varied responses to these two questions.  There seem to me to be three concepts that directly influence how we answer these questions: 1) Self-Efficacy, 2) Locus of Control, and 3) Self-Esteem.  This isn’t a psychology class, but it is important we understand…

I find it interesting how the mind begins to construct concepts like a home over a lifetime of experiences, thoughts, and emotions.  A house isn’t a home, but a house can become a home. One can also have a home without a house. So, what is the difference between these two terms?  A home has…

Do you ever wonder why things turn out the way they do? I mean, is God really orchestrating every butterfly wing that flaps in Southeast Asia? Balancing all the details regarding our recent home building has been a challenge. So many things turned out differently than we desired or planned. I think some of this…