I write about living life well
“Calm, quiet, gentle, peaceful…” These are the words that I used to coach my children when they were very little. It’s ok to be excited, but rarely is the extremely radical contest of audible friction something the general public is able to handle. Yet, that reality is common with toddlers. Noise is inevitable. It’s everywhere….
“That Dog Don’t Hunt Here….” We are dog people. (I am also very much a cat person) As long as I can remember, my dad has had a working dog. And when I say working, I mean a dog that obeyed, retrieved household items if needed, and most of all, hunted. In the 1980s, we…
Applebee’s Restaurants, now closed in these parts, was a staple of my teen and early adult life. My bride and I ate there on dates and as when our first two kids were young. Before the days of the coffee shop, this franchise was a good place to sit and talk with other people, so…
Writing comes in waves. Sometimes those waves crash into the walls of normalcy and produce nonsense; for me at least. (Like this point) I’ve found that when I am overly busy with physical things (cleaning, fixing, working, etc.) I am unable to hear my mind because it isn’t working. I’ve written often about solitude and…
It’s that time of year again when leaves begin to fall to the ground, blow all over everything, and stick fifteen feet deep in my yard. The last person to help me with them retired from any physical labor. It is a daunting task when you have sixty-foot oaks, magnolia, and pecan trees and it’s…
I love music, all types, genres, and styles. I like music with lyrics and lyrics without music. Today I want to share my love for a few classic and contemporary hymns and why I love them. For the record, there are too many to list here and I have some that I absolutely love that…
In my line of work I am connected with a lot of people from many walks of life – all the time. This is an unfinished essay… on purpose. You’ll feel it. During a very trying season a good friend said to me, “James, the good news is that we get to work with people,…
Last week I wrote about how music impacts our way of life and thoughts. When it comes then to our lives and what we say to them, they too affect those around us. Continuing this metaphor, I want to express a few ways (songs) that we sing and how they impact the world around us….
Peace is a rare and precious jewel. It is often hard to find in a world that is so busy, nosy, and unable to rest. Gladly, some people know and understand the rest that comes through a true knowledge of God’s mercy and grace, but even then, the mind and body are easily unsettled and…
Songs have changed the world. Seriously. How many times have you taken a ’jingle’ quiz online and know every single one? I can still hear all the commercials and the songs of my childhood and moreover, replicate the experiences surrounding them. I smell the warm invitation of the mornings as I hear the Folger’s commercial…