I sent two boys off to summer camp this morning. One boy was locked and loaded, ready for every single thing about this adventure. The other boy was "ish." "Ish" is the answer he has given me every time I have asked him if he's ready, excited, or packed. "Eh. Ish." I suspect that he's […]
Sometimes the internet keeps me in touch with you. And sometimes it's a big interruption in our conversation. I understand we got interrupted. My email subscription has been down for a bit. A few months, actually. You may not have noticed, or you may have thought I stopped writing. But no, here I was, prattling […]
Bustling through the Denver International Airport, I followed Peter into the Tattered Cover to see if they carried You Can Do This. (It's a joy to be married to one who champions my writings and believes, "yes, of course, we will see it in this bookstore. And every bookstore. They're fools not to carry it! […]
Tucker hit a home run last night. I nearly lost my voice and my mind, watching my player round the bases and slide right into home. Watching Peter coach him at third base, rounding his arm to signal our boy to run straight home. Go, go, go. I sure didn't know I was a baseball […]
Want to be happy for an hour? Have a steak dinner. Want to be happy for a day? Play a round of golf. Want to be happy for a week? Go on a cruise. Want to be happy for a month? Buy a new car. Want to be happy for a year? Win the lottery. […]
Did you know that God brought all of the animals to Noah? Because maybe I missed that day of Sunday school, or maybe it just never occurred to me to connect those dots, but I guess I missed that detail along the way. I think I always thought that Noah sent his sons all over […]
After my years in the classroom, I'm still kind of a junkie for lesson plans, bulletin boards, and great ideas for the classroom. If I were teaching, I'd do this today. "Take out a blank piece of paper. Lay it on your desk. See how perfect it is? Flat, straight, unmarked, undamaged. Now crumple it […]
You have to know that I’m a conference junkie. I’m a 100% auditory learner, which is maybe an exaggeration since I do most of my learning through books, but still. I’m a lecture-lover at my core. Talk to me with your stories and your bullet points and your sound bytes of glorious quotability, and I […]
“The art of managing a lot of things is to never drop the same thing twice in a row.” Bishop T. D Jakes said this at the Global Leadership Summit last week. I love thinkers and thinking, I crave the presence of thought leaders, and I am something of a conference junkie, so I signed […]
I leaned out the Starbucks drive-thru window to hand a drink to the customer in her car, and that’s when I heard her say, “Oh, my gosh! It’s you!” It’s always fun when the virtual world meets the real and tangible world right in front of me, and here I had a collision of two […]
Among the ranks of elementary teachers, it’s pretty safe to say: once a teacher, always a teacher. I taught third grade and kindergarten before my children were born, and I was the quintessential elementary teacher. With a lifetime’s aspirations and my degree finally in hand, I embraced it all: right down to the plaid jumpers […]
"Every crowd, sooner or later, will let you down. The crowd contains a shoplifter, or a heckler, or an anonymous boor who leaves a snarky comment. The crowd loses interest, the crowd denigrates the work, the crowd isn't serious. Worst of all, sometimes the crowd turns into a mob, out of control and bloodthirsty. But […]
I think one of God's greatest creations is women. That's not a feminist statement or sexist statement, because - believe me - I also think very highly of God's masculine workmanship. Very. But what's on my mind today is the collective of women. The sisterhood. He created us together, to listen to each other, […]
My friend Katy wrote this morning about a FaceTime conversation with her granddaughter, Juniper. (Let’s just take a moment to acknowledge how darling that name is. And from what I’ve seen in photos, Juniper’s blue-eyed, freckled cuteness is edible.) Juniper was working on her Valentines, and she showed them off to her grandparents via face-to-face […]
I'm about to offer you a most compelling invitation. So, brace yourself. I love Catalyst. Everything about it. Every fall for a few years now, my brother and I have been meeting up for Catalyst in Atlanta, convening with other leaders and thinkers. When you love to learn and think, it's most energizing to be with […]
I think Reassurance can be a lot like money. There will never be enough of it. Likes. Approvals. Confidence. Affirmations. Ultimately, in how many ways do you need to hear the word Yes? Reassurance seems like an essential component to everyday life, especially if you have grown so used to being surrounded by it, hearing it […]
"When my kids were small, I just pretty much said no to travel." "I commit to be away from my family no more than 12 nights per year." "My wife cooked dinner every night, and we ate around the dining table. Dinner isn't about eating - it's about talking. And there are conversations that will […]
Seriously. If you're even thinking about coming, jump at this opportunity. And if you're a leader who likes to think, or if you just enjoy great company and smart people, then you should totally be thinking about this and thereby jump at this opportunity. And! (I'm looking both ways before I say this out […]
Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors. Pure brilliance. He wrote this yesterday, and I would like to have it written across the sky. You should buy the book Mitch Joel is a generous and perceptive blogger. Well worth the daily read. He has a new book. You should buy it. David Meerman Scott writes an […]
