Dreading Monday?

That dreading-Monday feeling can sink in on Sunday even before the kickoff on the afternoon NFL game. I don’t have to log in to the work email address without beginning to think of all I need to get done the next day (isn’t there something I’m forgetting?) and the anxiety will creep up, ruining a perfectly lovely Sunday. 

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A God's-Eye View

Sometimes I wonder if God looks at us the way I look at someone doing a bad job at parallel parking. You stand there and see them driving up over the curb and yet you can’t somehow convey when they should turn the wheel to the right or the left or move backwards or forwards. 

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New Life

Nothing’s more exciting than hearing about a newborn. Talk about good news!

My friend Jim just had a baby boy and I’m thrilled for him. My mind immediately leaps back to when my boys were first born. I quickly forget the sleepless nights or the anxiety about how could we ever afford children. (I remember fretting about spending a mere $2.50 on a diaper pail.)

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When Times Are Hard

“Remember how bad things were last year?” I heard myself saying.

I was giving a two-minute stewardship address at my church, and worried once again how we were ever going to make our budget this year. There were still too many folks in the congregation out of work and even more whose jobs seemed to be threatened. How could they dig into their pockets at such an insecure time? 

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Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today’s Mom’s birthday. No, I won’t tell you how old she is. She doesn’t want any of her tennis girls to know how old because she’s afraid they’ll hit the ball back too soft. 

But that she plays tennis twice a week is pretty impressive. It’s one of those things her four kids love about her. She loves a good game and she never gives up. (A little Celebrex helps the arthritis.) 

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Phone Home

Sunday night Carol and I were putting the final touches on dinner—celery root soup and a beet salad—when the phone rang. Tim calling from college. 

“How’s it going?” I asked, conveying his answers as Carol set the table and sprinkled cheese on the salad. Midterms were coming up, music theory was really hard, Japanese history was interesting. I was about to ask him about rehearsals for Richard II when I heard a beep on the line.

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Can You Tie a Bow Tie?   

Why are bow ties so impossible to tie? I wear one once or twice a year and each time I find myself stymied.

I used to know how to do it. Back in high school I was once in a show where I had to tie a bow tie backstage between scenes in 60 seconds. No problem. I could even do it without a mirror. Not now.

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You’re In My Prayers

I was thinking about a neighbor Carol and I have been praying for. Quite frankly I was wondering if we should tell her or not. 

What does it mean to know that people are praying for you? Would she understand how it was meant to help? And how would I ever explain that?

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Little Things

Tim had only been away at college for two weeks and I was already missing him. Don’t get me wrong. I was happy he was at school, glad to hear about the classes he was taking, glad to know that he was studying hard and having fun with his friends. 

But I’d gotten used to having him around this summer—home on weekends from his job as a camp counselor. And we’d especially had a good time at the beach when we were both on vacation. How could I tell him I was thinking of him? 

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The Things We Teach Our Kids

My older son, Will, never learned how to ride a bicycle as a kid. Let me tell you I was convinced that it had to be added to my long list of failings as a dad—I couldn’t teach him. I taught Tim, his younger brother, no problem. But no matter how many times Will and I went around the park, me clutching the seat of the bike, ready at any moment to let go…it just never worked.

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