“Some things words can’t change.” The seasoned pastor stood at the edge of the eating area. The tables were full of people processing their grief with fried chicken and green beans almondine and fruit pie. Stories were laid on the tables with dinner rolls, and the salad was dressed lightly with the oil of hesitant […]

(First published as “The Power of Words” on February 13, 2012.) “Have you lost a few?” That’s how Scott greeted me. “Yes, a few,” I said as my eyes started to mist. I know that’s a pretty strong emotional response to someone wondering whether you’ve lost weight. For years my response to that question has been […]

What tells you that you are running at the edges? For me, it’s my office. When my office starts becoming a little more chaotic than usual, I realize that it’s an external manifestation of internal disorder. When there are more cords and chargers and projectors than usual, it means that there may be too many […]

I’m helping some people think about jobs and careers and life. That’s hard for some of us. We don’t know what we want to be when we grow up. We can’t exactly tell you what we’ve always dreamed of doing. (And I’ll tell you why I think that is in the comments in a day […]