Tag: encouragement

  • The Search

    The Search

    There was once a wealthy heiress to a real estate fortune who was a collector of fine art. In particular, she was keen to acquire the early paintings of Pablo Picasso. Virtually every time a work from his Blue Period, when he painted mostly in shades of blue and blue-green, became available, the heiress tried…

  • Daddy’s First Car

    Daddy’s First Car

    Early in my nursing home ministry days, I purchased a digital audio recorder, to capture some of the fascinating stories the residents shared. I loved the one told us by a ninety-year-old lady about how the children in her one room schoolhouse crowded around one of the few radios in their community to hear President…

  • From Darkness to Light: Stories of Encouragement

    From Darkness to Light: Stories of Encouragement

    I read a story the other day about a young girl who eloped from a shelter for troubled teens in the wee hours of the night. She was found in the woods a few hours later, not by the police, but by a female janitor from the local school. When asked how she knew where…

  • The Triple-A Approach to Helping Someone in Need

    The Triple-A Approach to Helping Someone in Need

    After I left full-time ministry, but before I became a teacher, I spent three years in sales with Frito Lay, Inc. I was a Route Sales Rep, which is a front-line position selling salty snacks to grocery and convenience stores. One day, my boss was helping me set up a huge display of potato chips…

  • Building Legacies Through Kindness and Faith

    Building Legacies Through Kindness and Faith

    This year when I reported back to work as an elementary assistant principal, I noticed some new faces. As I introduced myself to an assistant principal who looked older than me, and I’m a middle-aged guy, I assumed she was someone who retired, and then was rehired. When I told her my name and asked…

  • Finding Meaning in an Open Closet Door

    Finding Meaning in an Open Closet Door

    It started simply enough. Shortly after we remodeled our home, I found a closet door open in the back hallway. “I must have forgotten to close it after I was in there last night,” I convinced myself. But it kept happening. “Sweetheart, were you in the back hallway closet yesterday? I noticed it was left…