August 17, 2023
Personal best, not perfection. ~Bethany Faircloth The best is the enemy of the good. ~Voltaire And God saw that it was good . . . ~ Genesis This is my umpteenth attempt at this blog . . . a blog on perfectionism. In a series on lessons taken from sabbatical….
July 27, 2023
I always blog on our anniversary. This, I suppose, is obvious, as I am clearly thinking about marriage, our marriage, and the nature of intimate relationships. And I am, as always, grateful for my spouse and our partnership. As I’ve mentioned…
October 14, 2022
“We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see.” – Winnie the Pooh I did not marry my best friend. Did you? For many of my couples, yes. They happily say they are marrying their best friend. I love that. I think it is likely more common to…
September 22, 2022
The thick of early-childhood parenting is stressful. At least it was for us. All of a sudden we had this not-so-easy baby/toddler making demands on us while we juggled work and running a house. I know some folks just fly first-class into parenthood….
September 15, 2022
A week or so ago I shared my current mantra: “everything is hard.” I know it maybe isn’t the best mantra. On the other hand, there is power in truth (imagine that!) So, perhaps it’s not the most sunshiney statement, but we all know that the perpetual…
September 1, 2022
Everything is hard. That is my mantra these days. I acknowledge that, perhaps, it is not the best mantra. But I am not known among family and friends for being the perpetual ray of sunshine. Instead, I am known for my commitment to speaking the…
August 18, 2022
I’ve spent the past three weeks amusing myself (and hopefully you) by poking holes in bad marriage advice. Each time, I’ve attempted to present more honest truths about marriage, and wonder more creatively about the marriage relationship….
August 10, 2022
Oh, hey! It’s my third installment in debunking those pithy, and supposedly helpful, statements we all hear about marriage. So far, I’ve taken “Never go to sleep angry” and “Love conquers all” to task. This week? This one is a piece of work. “Marriage…
January 21, 2022
I have spent the past few weeks laser-focused on rituals – what they are, why we have them, the whole nine yards. Why? Well, I am teaching a workshop on “non-churchy” rituals for colleagues at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa next week, and I sure want…
December 30, 2021
Is it already our fourth week in this series of five things to look for when hiring your officiant? Yup. It sure is, y’all! Let’s recap the last three tips since we took a break over Christmas week. First, hire a professional wedding…