Mar 24, 2016 | Calling, Depression, Leadership, Productivity, Relationships, Rest, Stress, Work
Several years ago I drove an awesome red truck. The day I brought it home from the dealership, my wife’s first response was: “Oh, that’s a cute truck!” Not exactly the response I was looking for. Manly—yes. Awesome—certainly. Cute? Never! The truck had an RPM gauge...
Mar 10, 2016 | Calling, Career, Family, Leadership, Marriage, Productivity, Rest, Stress, Uncategorized, Work
Back in the 70’s, Cheech & Chong put together a shtick entitled: Sister Mary Elephant. The good sister was substitute teaching for Sister Rosetta Stone, and the class’s assignment that particular day… report on their summer vacation. The first young man (in a...
Jan 21, 2016 | Anger, character, Contentment, Fear, Productivity, Stress, Uncategorized, Work
Hello my name is John… and I’m a plan-aholic. I’m addicted to routine. The weekly checklist is my friend. Each day of the week, my tasks are laid out. It feels great to draw a line through an item when it’s complete. A good day to me is crossing everything...
Dec 23, 2015 | Christmas, Contentment, Family, Relationships, Stress, Uncategorized
Christmas was magical to me as a young boy. The fresh-cut pine tree loaded with lights and ornaments; piles of snow outside; the Charlie Brown Christmas special; holiday kielbasa and raspberry cream pies; family gatherings; opening gifts; no school for two weeks… for...
Dec 3, 2015 | character, Contentment, Depression, Fear, friendship, Relationships, Rest, Stress, Work
We live in a crazy world. If you watch the news, you’re bombarded with disturbing images and stories. Most news programs don’t lead with stories about the positive things in life. Human nature defaults to focusing on what’s wrong in life. As a result, our world...
Nov 20, 2015 | Calling, Career, character, Contentment, Family, Leadership, Marriage, Pastor's Kids, Productivity, Relationships, Rest, Stress, Work
Wouldn’t it be great if all a leader needed to know was 3 things? Wouldn’t their lives be simpler? The truth is, a leader needs to know more than 3 things—one reason more books on leadership exist than we’ll ever be able to read in our lifetime. I’ve lost count of the...
