There was something special about last week’s Pumpcast News video. Some incredible videos emerged this week as well. Which of these is your favorite?
Last year, we began dreaming with leaders from Oklahoma City…
As we dreamed, we met business leaders and pastors standing together for the fatherless. We heard Governor Fallin say fatherlessness was Oklahoma’s greatest challenge. We saw a city united and committed to reaching youth through foster care, adoption and mentoring.
Something special was happening in Oklahoma. And it embodied the [...]
So I’ve been studying manipulative people lately. And I’ve been studying them after having been completely taken in over the last several years by a few of them. You just assume all people are good and honest and it’s a shock and borderline offensive to think they aren’t, but the truth is some people are a lot more manipulative than others.
The bottom line is manipulative people try to trick you into siding with them or submitting to their will without directly asking you to do so. They like to trick people into things. Whether it’s a business deal or romantic relationship, manipulative people will use guilt, shame, lies and trickery to get what they want.
It sounds so cruel to say it and [...]
OK, I’ll admit it. I don’t like to stand in lines. I go early to movies and avoid going to the post office where lines are standard fare. And if I do stand in a line, I prefer to be close to the front. That’s why when I fly Southwest, I pay an extra $10 a ticket to get in the A group. (Not only do I despise lines, I also hate middle seats.)
Coming home from a trip recently, I was standing in my “A” line in the Southwest terminal. My boarding pass number was A-29. I can’t tell you how pleased I was with that number, assuring me of my beloved aisle seat.
As I was standing in my little section marked “25-30,” I happened to [...]
21May, 2013
I read a recent article that claimed more than 44% of moms report abusing prescription drugs, and 88% have abused alcohol. The study as a reaction to the stress of seeking parenting perfection. There are even more statistics, and if they’re true, they make up one of the saddest stories I can imagine. Parenting isn’t about perfection, but about love. And love is messy.
Unfortunately, perfectionism is everywhere. Maybe it’s ok for brain surgeons and Superbowls, but not for everyday life. We seek perfection in the way we keep our homes, our relationships, our appearances — and yes, even our families. Instead of enjoying those experiences, we fixate on making them better, without knowing what “better” even is. The end result of all this perfectness is [...]
20May, 2013
The other day I was in LA with a friend and he took me to his favorite taco shop. We were sitting there eating when I realized I’d actually been to the bike shop across the street, nearly five years before. I laughed as I told him I spent about a couple hundred dollars on stuff I didn’t need in that very shop.
I could remember it so clearly. I was heading out on a cross-country trek, riding from Los Angeles to Delaware and so I stopped and bought supplies at that very store. I bought [...]
Every Sunday we feature a brief “sermon” from an unlikely source. This week we feature David Foster Wallace, who delivered this commencement address in 2005 to the graduating class of Kenyon College.
Good morning! Last week, the good people video won your vote without question. I can’t wait to hear what you think about this week’s selections [...]
My list of things that I decided to do this year starts with these three words: “Pick a fight.”
That might sound a little odd at first. I picked a fight with Dale Gardener when I was in the 7th grade. He was huge. He almost blocked the sun when he walked by. I didn’t like Dale because he was a bully and beat up the little guys on campus. I’m not sure why he didn’t like me, maybe because I wasn’t a little guy.
It was pretty easy to pick a fight with Dale, actually. I told Dale one day [...]
I got a little bit of work done on my book today, but not as much as I’d hoped. Yesterday, I wrote five times as many words as I did today. And I’d even argue yesterday’s words were better. I doubt anything I wrote today will be published. And yet I feel fine about it.
It’s been a long time coming for me to view a relatively unsuccessful writing day as a victory, but I’m glad this is now my perspective.
What I mean by this is writing is not an exact science [...]
