A tough day at school

November 5, 2015

John Montgomery is a freshman in high school. His girlfriend of three months broke up with him today and wants to see other guys. He wonders if it was something he said…..or did…..or failed to do.  John thought everything was going great and now feels that his heart has been hijacked. He could not bring […]

Hindsight is 20/20

November 5, 2015

Dr. Gerald Bell, a professor at The University of North Carolina conducted a survey of 4,000 retired executives.  He wanted to determine what they would do differently if they had their life to live over again.  Thought you might appreciate the results. I should have taken charge of my life and set my goals earlier. […]

A Paradigm Buster

November 5, 2015

This picture by Dave Irey sparked a cowboy’s imagination within seconds. Immediately, I thought of how exciting it must have been for Dave to witness this battle of wills in the wild. The next impression was even more potent. How often in the human kingdom do we get tangled up like this with other people? […]

Old Lady Gates

November 5, 2015

It was the summer of 1960 in Prairie Village, Kansas.  Neal Dufur, Tom Finholm, and a much younger cowboy were having a raft race in the creek behind Neal’s house.  Raft might be exaggerating a bit.  We each had small sticks that were designated with long forgotten names and we followed them for a half […]

Love space

November 5, 2015

On Wednesday, two young boys ages 7 and 9 were attending 6:30 a.m. Mass with their mother. The boys wore light blue sweater vests that seemed to be the uniform at St. Thomas More school. The kids flanked their mom one on each side. Ten minutes into the Mass, the nine year old stepped in […]

Stamp out Hunger

November 5, 2015

John Chapman was born in Leomeister, Massachusetts in 1774. His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry. He always carried a leather bag filled with apple seeds he collected for free from cider mills.  He soon became known as Johnny Appleseed. Legend has it that he was constantly […]

Hannah

November 4, 2015

Hannah is six years old and misses her dad. His Ft. Carson unit was called to duty two months ago. Master Sergeant Rick Dailey is training the military police in Afghanistan and hopes to return by Christmas. Hannah sits quietly on the window seat and wishes he’d be back next week for Christmas. That would be […]

Appreciate

November 4, 2015

“The earth laughs in flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pheasants Forever

November 4, 2015

In early November of 1992, a group of dedicated pheasant hunters traveled to western Kansas in search of ringnecks. The group consisted of Al Sigman and his son Darrell, Tom Flaming, Rich Bloch, and a very young cowboy named Bob.  A steady rain greeted them on Saturday morning. By 11:00 am., the party was soaked […]

Delicious

November 4, 2015

Sometimes life takes a sudden twist or turn and we’re left wondering how to make sense of it all.  Noted author Henri J.M. Nouwen encourages turning to friends for support and perspective. ‘They remind us that crushed grapes can produce delicious wine.’

What a treat!

November 3, 2015

Ok…..maybe it’s because I was sooooo scary last year on Halloween that we only had a dozen kids ring the doorbell this year.  I can live with that….because our first trick or treater (Ben) was about as cute as they come.

Life is Difficult

November 3, 2015

The first line of The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck is, ‘Life is Difficult.” Once you graduate from the swinging on swings…….the flying of kites…… and Chucky Cheese birthdays, it becomes apparent that Mr. Peck was right. There is difficulty in the lifting of weights, the climbing of cliffs, the raising of kids, […]

Silly Eyes

November 3, 2015

Some days you just have to see the world through silly eyes……knowing the best is still ahead.

A Beautiful Day

November 3, 2015

Today will be another beautiful day in Colorado before the colder weather arrives later this week.  A very young tennis pro awoke this morning with the memory of a similar day in the fall of 2010. It was a Tuesday morning and he was rushing to finish lunch before a noon group lesson.  A couple […]

The boy at the backstop

November 2, 2015

We drove slowly north on Downing Street heading to Porter Hospital when a young boy caught my eye. Separated from classmates who excitedly played basketball and tag, he leaned against the baseball backstop far from the kids who didn’t seem to notice him. The boy’s head was bowed and I wondered what he was thinking….and why he was […]

The Gentle Giant

November 2, 2015

Roland was a successful real estate developer and part time tennis player. He played weekly matches against his neighbor and was routinely beaten by lopsided scores. Standing six foot five, this gentle giant had two tennis liabilities that gave his opponent a decided edge.  Roland had extremely large feet and slow twitch muscles….not exactly conducive to conducive […]

Home

November 2, 2015

Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense.  It’s where we pour out the unreserved communications of full […]

Shine

November 2, 2015

A very young cowboy has a dear friend in Australia named Sister Cheryl.  She does workshops entitled ‘SHINE’ that help people discover their gifts. Cheryl is talented in so many ways.  She survived a tumultuous upbringing and emerged with a heart of compassion not unlike Mother Teresa.  My sister has also been the driving force for creating […]

We are….

November 2, 2015

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Teilhard de Chardin

The Power of Words

November 2, 2015

“There is a language of success and a language of distress. There is a language of progress and a language of regress. Words sell, and word repel. Words lead, and words impede. Words heal the heart, and words wound the soul. When words are used properly, they sing out to the human heart. Used correctly […]