Sep
30
2021
Our whole family often jumped into learning what Dad was learning. He was so infectious and enthusiastic; he inspired us to understand what he was learning. One of his favorite spiritual teachers was Ignatius of Loyola. Dad loved to...
Sep
29
2021
Our family created a ritual around mealtime conversation. This ritual refined through the years, but it emerged from my Dad's quote he often used, "Great people talk about ideas, mediocre people talk about things, and small people talk about...
Sep
28
2021
Dad and I loved to go to movies and see them on the big screen. One of our favorite movies was 1917. We loved the panoramic scope, the intensity of just one day, the visceral experience of World War...
Sep
27
2021
Dad liked to use a jar illustration to help people diagnose the quality of their thoughts and words. Picture a large glass jar in which you can inspect all the contents. Imagine putting your thoughts and comments in the...
Sep
24
2021
Dad loved to sing, and for a long time, he was not good—so poor people thought he purposely mocked the song when he sang in church. Yet, Dad still sang— in church and in public. He loved to sing...
Sep
23
2021
I love history with all my heart, especially World War 2, perhaps because I know Dad loved Winston Churchill, or because I lived in Germany, or maybe because I have always wanted to know why this massive war of...
Sep
22
2021
My Dad noticed people that many do not—people mopping floors, or bussing tables, people who were often unseen or unrecognized. He treated everyone he met as a miracle with infinite value. I recently met a pastor from Colorado at...
Sep
21
2021
Dad valued quality thinking. For most of us, we assume whatever we think about is reality. A thought enters our head, and we unequivocally believe it. Dad told me to imagine thoughts like people trying to get into an...
Sep
20
2021
One of Dad's favorite sayings was, "Yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch, life's a cinch." Dad would often counsel me on a project that felt overwhelming to take one step at a time. Make one...
Sep
17
2021
I opened up Dad’s journal from 1987 recently. The year I survived a severe car accident on my way to school. The entry date was May, but I could tell Dad was still navigating the fear of that terrible...
