Look at the picture above. What do you see? Yes, it is a photo showing the tread of a boot. Whose boot is it? It’s astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s boot footprint, which he left on the moon in 1969. Scientists say that footprint is likely, unchanged after all these years. Nothing on the moon gets eroded without wind or water, so what happens on the lunar landscape stays there. Unchanged, wow!

A friend recently took a trip to the western part of the US to visit a few national parks. One of the stops he and his family made was at the Sequoia National Park. The picture above is one he took of a great sequoia tree. This is the McKinley Tree name after President William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States.

When it comes to escaping the comparison trap, there may be no more helpful illustrations than the Parable of the Talents found in the Bible: Matthew 25:14-30. 

The parable focuses on a Master who “entrusted his wealth” to three servants. “To one, he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and another one bag,” and then, he went on a long journey. 

Spring is a time of flourishing. Winter has passed, and the time of new birth arrives right on schedule. Things start greening up, plants break through the ground and reappear, flowers begin to bloom, and it’s time to turn the soil, reseed, fertilize, and plant. The birds are chirping, and nests are being built and populated with the hope of new arrivals. It’s spring, and the hope of flourishing is in the air.

Comedian John Branyan said, “We didn’t think up laughter; that wasn’t our idea. Laughter was given to us by God, who knew we were going to need it to get through life. He knew we were going to have hardship, struggles, and stuff was going to happen. Laughter is a gift.” 

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of the KISS principle. KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid, is a military term focusing on simple design. The thought behind the acronym is that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Simplicity should be maximized, and complexity should be minimized. 

Recently, I made a new friend, and we met for a coffee and a chat. During the “Get to know you” part of our conversation, he shared an interesting story from his family history. The story graciously illustrates that change happens over time. Now, I don’t have enough...

What a team we were. Some of us had been together for years. We went to football camp together, trained in the blistering heat of August and September, practiced and played hard, ran hard, tackled hard, challenged each other, and won and lost together. We had big dreams and high goals. We were champions, and we made each other better! 

That’s my wife Lisa posing with the “Big Bear” at Build-A-Bear Workshop. For the last twenty years, Lisa worked in banking, but when she decided to leave the banking world, she said, “I want to work at a fun place.” How ironic, the Build-A-Bear motto is “The Most Fun You’ll Ever Make.”

One of my favorite Ledford Senior High School teachers was Larry McAlpine (pictured above – 1976). He taught World Studies (history), which was not a popular subject but was required. In addition, he was the Assistant Principal, and I had the opportunity to visit his office often.