“If Your Spouse Isn’t Doing It For You, Just Leave! . . .”
We believe that, don’t we? We’ve bought into it, we embrace it, and we live it out. Commitments and vows mean very little any more. If I’m not feeling it, it must not be. And if it isn’t, then I’m…
Read More
Be Careful Little Heart. . . Valentine’s Day and Social Media. . .
This is a day to be happy and in love, isn’t it? At least that’s what we’re told by the good folks at Hallmark Cards and Whitman Chocolates. . . and the local florist. I was wondering though, how many…
Read More
The Music Story of the Weekend. . . And Not Who You Think. . .
Sure, everything else in the world of the news media came to a screeching halt due to a high profile entertainment death on Saturday. This will consume the airwaves for quite some time, I’m sure. The news coverage reminds us…
Read More
JFK, Position, Power, Persuasion. . . and Our Youth Ministry Responsibilities. . .
I’ve hesitated writing today’s blog entry for two reasons. First, I’m still trying to process what I saw and heard last night in the Rock Center interview with Mimi Alford. Second, the whole story seems to verge on being “soap-opera-ish”.…
Read More
“I’m Eating A #Donut. . . And Other Ridiculous Stuff You Don’t Need To Know. . . “
I spotted this thought-provoking photo on Facebook this morning. It made me laugh. It’s a tutorial on the differences between a variety of social media platforms. It’s clever. It’s somewhat accurate. It’s also quite telling. Some questions. . . 1.…
Read More
STOMP. . . . Banging In The Kingdom. . . .
The same thing happened to me the last time we went to the show. This morning, I wanted to go out into my garage and start banging on anything and everything. I was also thinking about the chaos that is…
Read More
Redeeming Those Super Bowl Commercials. . . .
So now I’m getting emails from GoDaddy telling me that their Super Bowl commercials are being pre-released. Think about it. . . commercials. . . hype. . . anticipation. . . pre-release. . . it’s crazy! And this year, it…
Read More
“So That’s What Was Wrong With Me!!. . . My Teenage Brain. . . “
Whenever I talk about adolescent development, I spend some time talking about the intellect, the brain, and cognitive abilities. We covered that topic just a couple of nights ago as I was leading our No Parent Left Behind seminar in…
Read More
“Friends With Benefits . . . . So. . . yeah. . . f___ it!”
I’m a stickler for watching a film from start to finish. I can’t do the “let’s stop it here and pick up on it tomorrow” thing. I did, however, do that with the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis film, Friends…
Read More
Youth Workers As Burden-Bearers. . . .
There are some people very near and dear to my heart who have helped me carry the load. I’m going to spend some time with a couple of them this weekend. I’m looking forward to it. Yes, I’m going there…
Read More
Art That Moves Me. . . And Maybe You Too. . .
When I was young, there was something in me that wanted to respond. Still, I couldn’t. “I don’t see it” and “I don’t hear it” were words I thought and sometimes uttered. In my college humanities class the professor would…
Read More
Lessons From JoePa. . . .
Somehow we all sensed that the craziness, confusion, and complexity of the Jerry Sandusky matter would break him down. Sure, Joe Paterno was already aging. But when the announcement came that he had lung cancer, I remember chatting with a…
Read More