6710 Grand

I was reading a white paper the other day on “Breakthrough Thinking”. It was talking about goal setting in a way that makes you uncomfortable. If your goal seems achievable, set a higher one. That kind of thing. It admitted that the process wasn’t going to be easy and that “nothing worth doing was.” Easy that is. Nothing worth doing is easy. I wholeheartedly disagree. I can think of lots of things that are easy and most definitely worth doing. Here’s a short list: 1. Loving my family (not always but most of the time) 2. Making a GREAT cup of coffee. 3. Reading a book (finding the time, well, that’s harder) 4. Saying “I love you” to my husband. 5. Kissing him—when he’s around, that is. Super easy. Sometimes too easy. We do have four children. Ahem. 6. Being nice to people. 7. Being polite. 8. Smiling—even when I’m not happy. Just turn up those corners! 9. Stopping—I think of this mostly when I’m running. When I’ve reached

I went to the dentist yesterday.  A cavity.  Humph.  Haven't had one of those since...well I can't remember when.  It's never pleasant going to the dentist and I'm sure they all realize that everyone hates them (not them personally  but in the same way dogs hate the vet.  Anyway...).  As I was sitting in the chair waiting for the novocain to take effect, my dentist strikes up a conversation.  "How's the family?"  We all go to the same dentist, so she really does know everyone.  "Kids all staying healthy?" "Oh yes.  Only one ear infection so far this year and I can't really blame that on the weather--just being a baby." "He must be almost one now, right?" "Yep.  One about two weeks ago." "Wow.  And your husband is a pilot right?" "Yep." "Now, how does that work?  He's gone a few days and then home a few?" We chat about the logistics of managing all of that.  How gr

I'm reading a book about the wife of Alexander Hamilton.  It's written like a novel, told in the first person.  It's amazing to me how stories of historical figures are pieced together from letters and diaries.  It makes me wonder how the tales of today's figures will be told.  Will it be like the books of our current president, told from those who hate him or like other recent presidents, told from their own perspective, knowing that others will read it, trying to make themselves understood?  Will things from both sides be omitted or embellished to ensure a certain spin?  Can we assume that Eliza Hamilton did not expect her letters or diaries to be ready by others and that, therefore, she could be honest?  Will today's heros and villians have their stories pieced together from social media?  Will we be limited to tweets and emojies to try to understand history?  Oh, I hope not!  I used to write letters--daily.  I wrote to Nick every day when we lived apart, even

I try to be nice to telemarketers.  It's hard calling people you don't know and asking them for something.  I've done it before--in fact, I do it all the time.  It's part of my job.  So, when someone calls me to ask me to donate or to sell me something or asks me to take a survey, I try to be nice.  It doesn't always work out well, but I try.  I also love surveys.  I try to fill them out one there's one on a receipt or I'm asked to answer a few questions after visiting a website.  Political surveys are the same and I actually kind of like those.  So when I got one such call last week, I answered his questions.  I always imagine the people on the other end of the phone are surprised when I don't hang up.  My view is, it's their job.  They may not like it but it's their job.  But I also don't like being taken advantage of and I don't like it when my information is sold for marketing purposes.  So, when this gentleman called, I said I'

There's a movie the kids used to watch called Monsters Vs. Aliens  or, in kid-speak, Monsters 'n Ellies.  It's your typical animated silliness but in the beginning of the movie, the main character, Susan, is talking to her fiance, Derek, who is a news anchor.  Derek has been planning their honeymoon to Paris and comes to her just before the wedding with great news.  He's taking her somewhere better than Paris! Really???  What could be better than Paris??? "Fresno!" "Fresno!"  She echos.  "In what world is Fresno better than Paris, Derek?" Well Derek got a job offer in Fresno and they'd have to move there right after the wedding.  No Paris.  The rest of the movie isn't important but sometimes I find myself worried about Fresno.  Not the actual Fresno but the symbol it represents here. Jesus said he came that we would have life and live it to the full.  The abundant life.  There are lots of books and sermons and such that ha