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Fifty lashes with a loaded tongue
Posted Monday, October 19, 2009, at 5:20 PM3"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21 How often do we carelessly let destructive words slip through our lips, wounding (sometimes fatally) the hopes and dreams of others, robbing them of confidence and making them feel unloved and unwanted?... -
Conquering fears and tackling dreams
Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009, at 12:44 PM2Looking back, I see a timid and shy little girl who was afraid of everything, and as time went on little by little, I was dying inside. Finding myself at a crossroads, I knew I had better choose my direction wisely because I had three small children to take care of. Neither I nor the children could continue on the road we had been traveling... -
Farther Along
Posted Monday, July 13, 2009, at 9:57 AM1Life with all its complexities can be quite a challenge to get through when dealing with just ordinary everyday circumstances. However, there are those we encounter in our lives that somehow break through the protective barriers and leave behind an aftermath of scars and wounds, some of which will never completely go away... -
Anna's Compassion
Posted Monday, June 29, 2009, at 11:07 PMMany times throughout the years, I have had to do the unthinkable to my children -- weed through their toys and get rid of some of the older worn-out items in their rooms. Each time I find it necessary to undergo this excruciating task, my children protest with all their might. ... -
My morning with the Marines
Posted Monday, March 16, 2009, at 4:53 PM1A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour the Fort Scott National Historic Site with a group of Marines from the Kansas City metropolitan area. Covering this event made a lasting impression on my mind. I have always had the utmost respect for the men and women who protect our country; however, on this day, my opinion was altered forever... -
Students teach the teacher
Posted Friday, December 26, 2008, at 5:03 PMAt some point in my life I decided teaching was my passion. It seemed to come natural to me, and although I am certain I was not a perfect teacher, few tasks brought me more joy than spending time with my students. Each of the students who walked through the door of my classroom will always have a special place in my heart. I never dreamed I would have the privilege to work with such a talented group of young people... -
Weirdo 2,000
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008, at 10:59 AM2Quite often as a parent, I must make decisions which are not-well received by my children. It is absolutely impossible for me to please them all of the time. I have grown accustomed to having one or more of them become a little angry with some of the decisions I make on a day to day basis... -
Keep your inappropriate behavior to yourself
Posted Tuesday, November 18, 2008, at 1:13 PM2After writing an article several months ago about the damage which can be done to school children who suffer from the attacks of fellow students who have bullying behaviors, I received information from a reader about a similar oppressive situation. It is extremely important to gain control over school-aged bullying, teaching these children a more acceptable form of behavior because as this reader commented, children who develop bullying behavior typically grow up to abuse the adults in their lives.. ... -
Massaging my feet and hands
Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2008, at 1:08 PMIt's not even quite November yet, and I am already suffering from a terrible head cold. I was told by a co-worker to try applying mentholated topical cream to my feet before going to bed. This is supposed to help relieve coughing allowing me to get a better night's sleep. ... -
No trick or treat for me
Posted Monday, October 13, 2008, at 11:05 AM7With Halloween fast approaching, my mind is scrambling to come up with a plan. I guess I am somewhat of a "stick-in-the-mud" when it comes to Halloween. It is really not a holiday I enjoy. It would be okay with me if it were wiped off the calendar, but I see no chance of that ever happening. I have never been much into ghosts and hauntings, witches and spells, or blood and guts. I realize there are those who thrive on this sort of thing, and I respect there right to do so... -
Driving heavy-footed dead-ahead
Posted Monday, October 6, 2008, at 4:33 PMYesterday, as I was flipping through channels on the television, I stumbled across a minister who was talking about the need for people to focus on the future instead of dwelling on the past. Everyone makes mistakes, he said, but we don't have to concentrate on those mistakes. ... -
Wow! moments
Posted Thursday, September 25, 2008, at 1:20 PM3I have been drinking coffee since I was about ten. I learned to enjoy its taste during some quality bonding time with my grandfather. Quite often Grandpa and I would sit perched in lawn chairs under the night sky with cups of coffee in hand. I am not entirely sure I really liked the taste of coffee back then, but I so wanted to be like Grandpa, and he drank so much coffee that he often smelled like a mixture of coffee and Stetson cologne... -
Dealing with the bullies
Posted Monday, August 4, 2008, at 2:46 PM1The local school district has been diligently working to end bullying in local schools. On August 25, district administrators will take this prevention to another level by offering anti-bullying training to the parents of school children. It is my belief that if everyone involved in a child's life is watching for signs of bullying and making efforts to put an end to it, we will see these types of acts drastically decrease... -
Remembering My Hero
Posted Friday, May 30, 2008, at 12:00 PM1With the passing of Memorial Day, my thoughts have been traveling back in time in remembrance of one of the greatest men in my life. From the time I was a baby, I was completely captivated by this man. My eyes lit up when he entered the room, and my heart skipped a beat. Even back then, before I knew what a hero was, he was my hero... -
My butt is loose?
Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 4:18 PM1Sometimes we adults become so busy with work and interaction with other adults that we forget that we need to get down on our children's level when we are talking with them. We assume that they should understand words that would be used in an adult conversation, not realizing that they have no clue what we are talking about. I think quite often, if we are not careful, we leave our children confused because we neglect to explain things on a level that they can understand... -
Good Samaritan
Posted Monday, April 7, 2008, at 5:05 PMIt is not very often that we can find someone who is more concerned about helping people than they are about making money. However, on rare occasions, a "Good Samaritan" will pop up when we need him or her most. This person's primary goal is not to profit from our needs, but to become a benefit to us in our time of need. Unfortunately, Good Samaritans are not always treated with the same respect that they give to others... -
Smile awhile
Posted Friday, March 28, 2008, at 10:30 AMSometimes life keeps us so busy that we forget to take the time to appreciate those around us. I recently discovered that tomorrow will not always be there for those whom we love. We really can't afford to neglect to tell those close to us how we feel about them. We must make it a priority to compliment them when they do something good and say thank you when they go out of their way to do something nice for us... -
Playing Detective
Posted Friday, March 14, 2008, at 4:44 PMSomeone once told me that if you are looking for something, but seem unable to find it, try looking for something else. This person said that when you begin looking for something else, the thing you were looking for in the first place will show up. Maybe I should take this advice, as I have been looking for something, or rather someone, for a couple of weeks now and continue to come up empty-handed. I guess patience is not one of my strong qualities... -
Healing comes in time
Posted Wednesday, February 27, 2008, at 2:30 PMAs is the case with many wounds, healing often comes slowly and gradually. Several years ago, I received a deep laceration on my finger. The gaping wound seemed to take forever to heal. I continuously applied ointment and bandages to the afflicted area in an effort to coax it to heal. ... -
Tangled, Twisted and Knotted
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2008, at 9:47 AMLast night I discovered a ball of yarn that somehow had been wound into one giant knot. As I picked up the yarn to inspect the knot and make a determination as to whether the yarn could be saved or should simply be discarded, I suddenly realized that sometimes our lives can parallel the knotted up yarn...
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