“I’ve had enough of your attitude!” How many moms can relate to having said that? And it probably isn’t in the context of children being angelic, winsome, agreeable, amenable, or compliant. Attitude probably conveys something more like sass, lip, disrespect, and rebellion. One’s attitude demonstrates the connection of one’s heart and one’s mind in clearer […]
Authenticity is a most desired virtue. However desirable, one rarely sees it in the Church no matter how much we talk about it. All we end up with is the not-so-close facsimile of “too much information.” Genuinely authentic people have nothing to hide, but it’s maybe not what you think. Their lives are transparent because they’ve […]
I wish I were better at savoring life’s moments. How much of my life would have been different, better even, had I chosen to savor the moment I was in rather than wishing it away or looking perpetually ahead on the calendar of life? If only the babies would grow up and stop needing diaper […]
How good are you at receiving criticism? If you’re like me, that question brings a decided “Ouch!” As we transition from the tiny virtues of the heart to the tiny virtues of the mind, we cannot help but see that our hearts and our minds have a certain connection. Our minds do not exist independently […]
Respect is earned. That’s a tough lesson for many of us. It’s earned by position (e.g. parents, government officials, doctors, pastors, etc.) and it’s earned by people with their actions. Because respect is earned, it can be lost. It can be lost by individuals not acting in accordance with their position, abusing authority as it […]
“You don’t know what it’s like because you’re not black,” he chided me angrily. I suggested to him that I could, however, empathize with the pain of discrimination because I have experienced it as a woman. Same sin, different target, I explained. He wasn’t buying it. Empathy is one of the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary […]
Nurturing is not a hallmark of wimps—it’s the calling card of the forever dedicated. I have been thinking a lot about Colin Kaepernick and what he has brought on himself–the sadness and controversy he has thrust upon this nation–by his poor choice of timing. His actions needed nurturing by those around him so Colin would […]
Today is the 15th anniversary of the terror attack upon the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Any of us alive and of an age to remember anything probably remember how we felt, where we were, and the deep, deep sorrow for a world that had-in a span of dark minutes-breached every code of […]
I cannot deny that Mary chose better. She chose listening (Luke 10:38-42). Of course way too many people in ministry like to take this story and turn it into the biblical equivalent of “Why can’t you be like your sister?” Martha was working out her faith while Mary was listening. Being a task-oriented person myself, […]
No one has to teach us how to cry for help. We need to make a concerted effort to offer it. Help is among the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living and sometimes we need a little help learning how …to help. (Cue the Beatles): Help, I need somebody Help, not just anybody Help, you know […]
