“ Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations ” – Zig Ziglar My family and I had the opportunity to go to a friend’s cabin a few years ago. We were told it was not a very long drive to the turn off, followed by a few miles on a dirt road and we would reach the cabin. This sounded like a great opportunity and a fun time away with my family. We had packed up the trailer and had everything loaded when I finally received the GPS coordinates to the cabin. You can imagine

“Let’s get the facts straight.” “Just give me the facts.” “The facts of the matter are…” “Factual speaking…” “I’ve seen the facts.” “Face the facts.” “Your facts are wrong.” “My source is factual.” “Facts, facts, facts…” Many discussions in our current society begin or end with the term “facts” being thrown around, with one side trying to prove its point through the use of the “facts” they have. Yet, despite the high utilization rate of the term “facts”, it doesn’t seem to be

Building and creating is an act of faith; we must first believe in a possibility before we build or create it. Faith is the power that connects what can be in the future (the finished product) to our actions today. Our faith guides us as we strive to do what is necessary today to create something, and our faith, if used well, will help to build a better tomorrow. To live by faith means that we are looking to our future and what we want to accomplish. Faith is the act of looki

Change. It’s a word we don’t love to hear and one that often produces a fear of the unknown. For example, when we hear of ‘changes’ coming at work, it generally produces nervousness or fear inside as we wait to see what may affect us. All of us know there are things about ourselves that we need to change or improve. Yet, there are a whole host of reasons that cause us to not change. We often stay in uncomfortable situations, tense relationships, or operate beneath our potenti

Bruce awoke with a start. He dreamed he had died and was standing in front of God. He hadn’t seen what God looked like due to the light coming from His face, but in the dream, he felt he was really in His presence. As Bruce recalled the dream, Bruce was trying to explain to God why Bruce had not lived up to his potential in life. “Life was hard” Bruce remembered himself saying, “I didn’t have enough money or time to really make a difference. Plus, I wasn’t as talented or succ

I felt torn inside. Things were not going well at home, and some family members were experiencing some significant struggles. But, things at work were going very well, and I could tell that I was being blessed in those efforts. I knew that I had been blessed with many things, but there was a significant distance inside between the feelings of gratitude for the good and the feelings of despair for the bad. It felt like I was simultaneously on a high mountain and a low, dark va

Having faith does not mean that you will win every time. Believing does not guarantee success. Consider the standard championship sporting event. Two exceptional teams face each other. The players have trained hard, they have worked through a lot of opposition, they have prayed, and they really believe that they will win. Yet, only one team will. Entrepreneurs exercise great faith when they start their next endeavor. However, statistically speaking, most of these startup busi

“Would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I remember hearing this question once, and it has consistently remained at the back of my mind since I heard it. The person asking the question was in a church setting, and they had said “If someone accused you of being a member of this church, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” While the question was asked in application to a particular church, it struck me in how much it applies to what I believe. When I ask myse

While waiting in line with a friend at a local barbecue spot. There was a man; much larger than myself, and his son in line behind us being obnoxious and goofing around. I didn't think much of it until he decided to bring me in on his "fun". He very obviously flipped my backside with his finger and then pretended like it was not him when I turned and confronted him about it. I sternly told him not to touch me but realized too late that this was his plan the whole time. He fli

Are you just  a parent? Or are you a parent ? Are you just  a mother or just  a father? Or are you a mother or a father ? Why the questions with the funny emphasis? Why begin an article with a bunch of questions? Good question. I’m glad you asked! The way we speak of parents today is quite different than it was 100 years ago. In times past, it was almost inevitable for individuals to grow up and become parents. You may grow up to do many different things, but becoming a pare

Are you looking for happiness? Most people are in one form or another. It’s not too often that you hear someone say, “I’m just trying to be as miserable as I can be.” We like to feel good. We like to be happy. It isn’t easy though. Happiness can seem elusive and ephemeral. Just when you think you’ve found it, the situation changes and you’ve lost it again. Sometimes it makes us wonder, “Can we find lasting happiness?” It’s a deep question - too deep for our purposes here toda

I often find myself being quite critical of those around me. From the “crazy” political ideas I find in my social sphere online to "incompetent" drivers all around me, I consistently find myself to be the most intelligent person wherever I go - in my mind at least - and there is a lot of evidence that I can see to support this claim. Take, for example, that lady who was weaving through traffic like she was running from something. Did we not end up at the same stoplight togeth

I am a hugger, but I haven’t always been. I grew up in a great family, but we simply didn’t hug very much. As the years went on and I had my own family, I became a hugger. I wanted my kids to find peace and safety within our home and let them know they always had a place in my arms to get away from what was bothering them. I started doing this with my siblings and parents as well. It was awkward at first, no one quite knew what to do with a hug. Over time they came to expect

Life is full of opportunity. At the beginning of every year, I find myself - in line with cultural tradition - making goals for what I will do in that New Year. As I look back on past goals made in previous New Year’s settings, I see a lot of ambition, but not as much follow-through. I see too many opportunities to be able to pursue them all, and too many uses of time that distracted me from my other goals. Each year, I accomplish a few things, half of some things, or a littl

When I was a teenager, I had an opportunity to go on a week-long summer camp with a bunch of youth from my church. I had been looking forward to this for a long time. I was also excited that my older sister would be there to show me all the great things about camp.   On the third day, the leaders took the youth that were there for the first time on a hike together. During these hikes, it was intended that we would learn about nature, survival skills, and the importance of sta

I stared out my car window at the pouring rain. “Please help the rain to stop” I fervently asked God. I asked again and again, but the rain continued to pour. I lived in a community that had a fair number of issues. Neighbors did not talk to each other often, and most kept to themselves. As I had thought about what I could do to help bring the community together some, I had realized that a fair number of guys in the area were working on restoring cars in their garages.   I sp

We cannot steer a parked car. A car can only be directed when it is moving. Depending on where we are going, we may travel faster or slower at different times. Life is similar. We all have destinations – or goals – that we want to reach. We may want to achieve a set level of wealth or have a certain job. We may want to help do something good. We may want to have a family. We know that reaching these destinations takes work and movement, but we often stay where we are, simply

I learned I might be praying to avoid the very things I needed A genie in a bottle. A magic carpet. These were supposed to be from the story of Aladdin, but one day I realized they were not entirely fictional—they described my prayers.   “Bless me and my family with safety today.”   “Bless me and my family to be healthy.”   “Bless us to have the money we need.”   “Please help [name] get better.”   “Bless us to have peace on earth.”   The above statements are common statements

In a world often defined by categories and stereotypes, the labels we attach to one another can profoundly impact our perceptions and interactions. These labels, whether they're based on appearance, occupation, or background, can often limit people to predefined roles or titles. This habit of labeling can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for meaningful connections. Instead of relying on labels, we have the power to reshape our perspectives by focusing on att

Does the media and big tech intentionally push negative content? I know that I believed so, as getting on Facebook or watching the news always left me feeling negative or down. At some point though, I began to wonder if it was them or if I had something to do with it. I decided to try an experiment where I would only interact with positive content on Facebook. I decided to like only posts that were positive or uplifting, comment on positive statuses, or click on or read posit