Do you know what a dichotomy is? Exactly, it is when we set in stone what appears to be two opposites. You know, like good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, up and down, you get the idea. But there are some dichotomies that are false. We separate what isn’t suppose to be separated. In fact, in a false dichotomy we actually do real harm to the true meaning of both of the…

There have been a few times in my life when I had just the right words to say in a situation. There have been times when I was in the right place at the right time. And there have been times when I have worked on a project over an extended period of time and watch as it achieves the goals we had set just at the right time. Yeah, I know,…

Well, that ought to get your attention! The truth is it isn’t love if it isn’t free. In fact, love presupposes freedom. Without freedom, there is no possibility of true love. As an example, we have jus started our new class for those wanting to know more about the Orthodox Faith. Every year after our annual church festival and after we have done so many church tours, we invite those who have…

You’ve seen them. They rush around and work their fingers to the bone all the time doing a million things at once and accomplishing amazing things because of their industrious nature. You’ve also seen them when they notice others aren’t nearly as “busy” as they are. Not all of them, but enough to make this story hit home, they will “point out” that “so and so isn’t helping nearly as much as…

There’s an old saying “figures don’t lie, but liars figure!” In many presentations I’ve made, I’ve used statistics to buttress my points and drive a point home for an audience. But I am constantly wary of statistics since they are often so easy to manipulate into supporting the conclusion you’ve already made. Let’s face it, most of us go seeking affirmation for the things we already believe. But here I go anyway!…

Actions have both consequences and motivations. The consequences may be unforeseen and the motivations may be a mystery, even to the doer, but without a doubt, they always exist. The challenge to me is will I own up to both my consequences to my actions AND observe and scrutinize my motives? Because I am never going to break the pattern of behaviors that keep me from becoming who I really am without…

Someone was commenting earlier today that it seems even the PG-13 movies are more violent and suggestive than a few decades ago. It seems our culture, for all it’s development and all the seemingly “liberal” notions in ascendency nowadays, the culture has gotten more violent and more coarse. What can we attribute this apparent cultural “slide” to? Well, for me, it seems to be a loss of the ability to actually value…

“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.” CHARLOTTE BRONTE, Jane Eyre Prejudice is always the ugly counterfeit to true discernment and good judgement. But we humans all too often confuse these realities to our own detriment. As a man who has grown up in the American South, I…

If you’ve ever hired a babysitter, then you know that sinking feeling any new parent has when they leave their child with someone new. In fact, there was a recent story in them paper about a family whose pet dog started growling and barking at the babysitter the family used to watch their infant child. Whenever the babysitter would come to sit with the baby the dog acted very aggressive toward her. This…

The old saying is “give till it hurts.” But that isn’t actually the best way to give. For many years I have been reading and studying the power of philanthropy. I’ve even been blessed to attend the School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, IN for some specific courses on how to help fund non-profit organizations. And study after study shows that when a person develops a habit of generosity it actually creates the sensation…