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Hearing and Doing
“Did you hear me?” “Are you listening?” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked the kids those questions. Sometimes I make them repeat back to me what I said, just to confirm that...
Heloisa Alonso
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New Life
My family has recycled for as long as I can remember. I grew up in New York State, which has imposed a 5-cent redeemable deposit on certain bottles and cans for many years. Long before...
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Perspective
“I’m starving! When will dinner be ready?” Most parents have heard this from their children at one time or another. Adults also have their ways of exaggerating their suffering. “It was boiling in that room...
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New Every Morning
Maybe you’ve seen the film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. In the movie, the protagonist, Phil Connors, is a weather reporter whose life is pretty much stuck in a rut. He’s less than enthusiastic when...
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The Same, but Different
This week I heard a brain teaser on the radio: If you start with a clock’s hands pointing straight up at 12 o’clock, how many times will the minute and hour hands overlap by the...
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A Blessing… and a Gift!
Some of you may be familiar with the TV series Monk, a comedy-mystery drama starring Tony Shalhoub as the title character, Adrian Monk. In the show, Mr. Monk suffers from extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which...
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Sharing is Caring
Sometimes one of our children may receive a special treat or gift from someone. While they do often have their own things, under certain circumstances we may encourage them to share their enjoyment with their...
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Poured Out: Forgiveness
Driving anywhere can produce a thousand little annoyances. Someone pulls out in front of you and drives way too slow. Then, another car scares you as it zips past way too fast. Yet another car...
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Poured Out: Joy
Is joy the same as happiness? Well, the two are similar, but not quite the same thing, because we can still have joy even when we aren’t very happy. For example, James writes in the...
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Poured Out: Hope
The recent passing of Billy Graham has led many of us to reflect on the influence of his life. Nearly all of us, regardless of our background or faith journey, can point to ways that...