For near a year, I’ve been paying a little more attention to what I eat, avoiding sugars and that kind of thing. As someone happy to start the day with apple pie for breakfast, the biggest challenge for me has been passing by baked goods; they smell good, they look good and they’ve never let […]

There are many reasons why I’m not a great athlete, but while watching the Olympics I’ve realized that one of those reasons might come from my attitude towards competition. When I might view other competitors as obstacles, getting between myself and a gold medal, the impression I get from the Olympians is that they see […]

Life is often full of clutter, of unhelpful things we cling to maybe out of habit or oversight or fear. Of course, God wants us to enjoy what he’s made. But when there’s so much that it creates stress: that’s a sign of clutter. In addition to being a practical issue, clutter is a spiritual […]

I hear it all the time: someone frustrated with distracted prayer or a student struggling to focus on studying for an exam. We all know what it’s like to be harassed by thoughts that confuse and get in the way of careers, relationships and peace; I’m certainly no exception to the experience. Maybe the minds […]

One of the biggest challenges in life, at least for me, is finding great friends. It’s a challenge even to define what a friendship is or to determine what criteria to use when assessing a friendship or relationship. Is a friend the one willing to wait for you at the airport or to help lift […]

When I go grocery shopping, I always bring a list and, mostly, I stick to it. I discovered long ago that without a list, I’d end up buying just whatever looked good. The result: a bigger food bill, forgotten necessities and waste. I discovered that, for me at least, a successful grocery shopping trip demanded […]

One thing I really despise is losing something. I know it’s something everyone experiences, but while some seem able to shrug off losing something as a frustration and children just accept losing things as part of life, I lose sleep when I know I’m missing something. It’s an experience that encourages me to be a […]