We Bought A Sofa

When you raise six kids in a house, things get a little worn. So, when my wife finally decided she wanted a new sofa for the family room I said, “Sure!” Several days of shopping and selecting fabrics (spread over a few weeks) later and the new furniture was on order. The new sofa (two…

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Good Neighbors

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of…

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The Invisible Man

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. While not my favorite holiday by holiday standards (that’s Thanksgiving for me), it is my favorite event by life change standards. It is simple. God loved me enough to send His son to die for me. He knew all about me. He knew all the terrible things I…

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What is Your Ikigai?

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” According to Japanese culture, everyone has one, but finding it can take effort. This effort…

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Not Guilty

Imagine for a minute that you are the new chief executive officer of a large corporation. You call in your chief financial officer to give you an overview of the company finances, so you can determine what course to take. The CFO comes in with her charts and graphs and explains in great detail the…

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A Miracle

Wednesday night at 9:37 my granddaughter, Violet Anne, was born. A lovely name for a lovely little girl. Later that evening, as I held her for the first time, she stole my heart. She will have whatever she asks of me or from me, for as long as I live. Holding her and looking at…

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I’d Give Anything to be a Philanthropist

I told someone the other day that my Grandfather, Garman Kimmell, was a philanthropist. I often include that in my description of him when I am relating some part of our story. However, on this particular occasion I found myself wondering what the other person thought that meant. What does it mean to be philanthropic?…

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More Than A Feeling

In 1976, Boston released their self-titled debut album. I was 12. The first track on side one is “More Than A Feeling.” Tom Scholz (who was a complete geek and an engineer who became a rock & roll demi god) sings about it being more than a feeling when he hears some old song they…

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Valiantly Truthful

In the company meetings last Thursday we heard Mike talk about honesty. He used the phrase, “being valiant for the truth.” What a great concept! To be valiant is to be worthy. To be valiant for the truth is to be worthy of the truth. Worthy of the truth. Are we? (ok, read out loud…

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If Only You Would Listen

I was able to take three of my kids to “School of Rock” yesterday. The production was fabulous. The music was fabulous. Spending time with my kids was fabulous. So there is that…. In the musical, there is a number where the kids are singing to their parents in vignettes where the song is thoughts…

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