Love & Kindness
Articles mainly about loving others, kindness, compassion, serving and generosity.
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Love Abundant
God is always surprising us. He is full of compassion and deepest love. How easy it is to ascribe harshness to God. Why is this?
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Reckoning
Hope seems in short measure when we see the violence happening in America. People with masks shooting civilians and dragging children away from parents. Never in my lifetime would I believe this could happen.
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Artistic Love
One of the gorgeous books we are reading as a family is by Makoto Fujimura called “Art is a journey into the light.” He and his wife are dear friends of ours.
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Contemplating Compassion
Two passages of scripture have been resonating in my mind. The first is Jesus healing the widow’s only son and not only healing but raising him from the dead.
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Completely
I have been meditating again on what made Dad such a wonderful father. He was a dear father because he knew how to love well. Part of the deepest aspect of love is the gift of friendship.
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Love as Witness
My husband is a genocide researcher. He looks back in history at the times when one people group hoped to eliminate another people group through bloodshed, famine, or other forms of harm.
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Forgiven and Forgiving
Look at this beautiful interaction Jesus has with both a Pharisee and a woman in the Book of Luke.
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Beneath the Surface
My dad could discern the root motives of others. He could look past the behavior and see the unconscious compulsions of shame, envy, greed, selfishness, or fear.
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Why Jesus
I sense that some people from other sports industries look with disdain at me on any praise delivered to “Jesus” as though I am delivering something fanatical or cultish.
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Moved
I love listening to stories of scripture. I spend time with the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus tells this story in response to a question about how we should be living our life.
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God as Love
I have been contemplating God as Love and a God with emotions like anger. It is a deeply unsettling space. So many beautiful theologians throughout history have wrestled at this nexus.
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Servant Leadership
Leading up to Easter, our church participated in a foot washing service in remembrance of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.
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How to be Uncommon
At a group I attended, a woman shared her story of hatred toward her stepfather. She said he verbally and emotionally abused her and made her teen years miserable.
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A Simple Choice
Near Lidice, the town razed by the Nazis, the Children of Czechia invited the children of Germany to plant a rose garden. Fifty-one counties sent roses for them to plant, over 100,000 roses.
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Lift up Someone
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else up.” This is a wise statement by Booker T. Washington. A great example of lifting up others is my wife’s Grandma Jesse.
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Meditating on Comfort
There is a bridge in Prague that is one of the most famous in the world. Near one end is a metal statue, most of the others are entirely of stone.
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Heading to Tarshish
Jonah was heading away from the place God asked him to go. He was asked to go to Nineveh and call people to repentance.
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A New Legacy
What is a good father? What attributes would you list? A good listener, compassionate, thoughtful? Dad thought often about the qualities of a good father and was intentional about wanting to be a good father.
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Collecting the Pieces
I love art museums. They are one of my favorite places on the planet. I can spend hours there. I love the stories behind the works of art just as well.
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The Cost of Love
One of my favorite things to do is go to a beautiful church and pray. If Shann and I are together and we are the only ones in the church, we will sing together.
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The Right Path
I recently met a man who is wrestling with his faith. He is skeptical yet wants to believe. He is reading a variety of religious texts because he fears making a wrong decision.
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LOVE-what is it? Why is it important?
For reasons I cannot explain the whole idea and notion of love has been gripping my mind and heart. The easy thing to do is ask SIRI to give me a definition of love.
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The First Habit of Atomic Love
The first habit needed to live from a place of abiding love for others is to sincerely seek God. This is the filling station. It is the source for this love to arrive and overflow.
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Atomic Relational Habits
I love James Clear’s work on “atomic habits,” and his research on how to make long lasting changes. Dad naturally understood how to build tiny daily habits that accrue over time. He lived this with his parenting.
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Invisible Cathedrals
As my husband Shann and I meet with Goldenwood, this unique community not only prayerfully considers gifting but more powerful considerations.
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Coming to the Table
One of our staff posted something on their social media which deeply grieved another staff member. This is always challenging. How do we handle our disagreements?
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The Courage of Conversation
Dad and I often talked together in surprise how fearful people are to compassionately engage in difficult conversations.
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Systemic Love
At the core of all systems of love is listening, mutual respect, serving others, repentance, gratitude, and joy. Health looks complete from top to bottom and bottom to top.
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Sharing Joy
The scripture passages I read this morning had a verse that has been reverberating in my mind. “When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
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The Things that Make for Peace
One of the recent devotional messages asked me to picture Jesus as He weeps over Jerusalem.
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Letting Go of Vengeance
God is always surprising me. Several years ago, a man trained up by us at NBC took all our training, investment, and information and tried to run camps without us.
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Effusive Love
I drove by a sign that said, “God uses us to love people.” I have felt tremendously loved by others. My mom and dad loved me with an all-encompassing, deeply powerful love. It was so healing.
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Judgmental Hiding
Sometimes I imagine Dad riding next to me in the car. We might pray together, or I will ask him a question. I loved to get his opinion on dysfunction.
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Real Leverage
Dad understood leverage which can be a tough concept to grasp. In my opinion, Dad understood leverage so well on the basketball court which helped him understand the value of leverage in the home.
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Pageantry or Practice?
One of my dad’s favorite mentors was a man named Paul Nakai. Paul did so much to elevate our understanding of relational health.
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The Radiant Exchange
One of the questions we have been meditating on in the office is, “What do you believe God wants to help you remove or release in your life that would allow you to more freely experience His abiding…
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Love is in the One on One
I have had a long break from Words of Hope for various reasons. Primarily, I needed to regain my footing.
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Welcoming Mind
I am so often surprised by Jesus and I want to know more about His interactions on earth. The story that is shocking me right now is His meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well.
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Verbal Guardrails
Camp is in full swing with many moving parts and of course unforeseen challenges. Most of these come out of nowhere surprising me without warning.
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How Love Speaks
During a poetry night at our house, we played a round of “speed friendship” and then ended with the question, “Who is someone who has influenced your life for good?” One of the young men in attendance is…
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Simple
I liked how Dad spoke to me. He was a great coach because he could take a task that felt daunting and make it very achievable and simple.
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Creating Culture
We have been playing a short game and praying everyday as at our office. I have been curious about building meaningful connection. How do we create mini moments of joy and wonder?
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Love in Action
I have been finding photos of my dad when he is my age. He looks so young and healthy! I can hear him counseling me as I begin to feel myself getting uptight.
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The Secret to A Long and Happy Life
A close friend sent me a Ted Talk that is the most watched in Ted history. This talk references the longest study of adults done to date.
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Celebrating People
I found a note from my dad. Dad wrote amazing words of encouragement. He celebrated people and made me feel like I could run through a brick wall if I had to.
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Inside Out Faith
I keep thinking about many Christian churches and schools I have witnessed in my life. Here is one thing I deeply admired about my dad. He believed that Christianity should change us.
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The Need of a Good Father
Last night, our family attended a beautiful event combining the discussion of leadership and dance. This teaching was presented by a father/son duo.
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Redefining Success
I love that Dad worked hard to redefine success. He had to do it all his life because the temptation to place “numbers” or “money” or “fame” as the barometer of success is such a part of our…
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Can Love Exist Without Sacrifice?
During our mealtime conversation, my husband Shann asked how the idea of God sacrificing His son on our behalf moves us? It is a profound consideration.
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Religion
I loved my conversation with a devout atheist on a recent flight. I think he enjoyed the conversation as well.
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Worldview
I met a devout atheist on a flight recently who loved Christopher Hitchens, a world-famous atheist. Hitchens contracted throat cancer and died denying God.
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Navigating Loneliness
I would really love to have a conversation with my dad about loneliness. I never asked him if he struggled feeling lonely. The main definition of loneliness is a feeling of being disconnected.
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Tgbtg
Dad loved acronyms. He had a million different ones he used often. My newest favorite is from my brother Jay. He texted a response TGBTG which stands for To God Be The Glory.
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Good News
Dad and I memorized a beautiful poem by Wendell Berry. One of the poignant lines says, “when despair for the world grows in me…” Despair is the opposite of hope.
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Miracle Life
A friend of mine told me she heard about my dad’s love for calling people “a miracle.” She began to do this as a substitute teacher in a Western Washington school district.
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Dad’s Favorite Number
Dad loved the Trinity. He literally was ecstatic about the community and unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because of his deep love for this, one of his favorite numbers was three.
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Fervor
I listened to a sermon recently on Galatians. The pastor had worked himself up into a zealous fervor decrying the current times. Then he addressed sins, especially of the culture he was desperately trying to fight against.
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The Greatest Work of Art
Our family had our nightly mealtime conversation and Bella, my youngest, offered up the elegant question for the night.
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Selfish Ambition Disguised as Evangelism
I watched a video of a woman sitting down with two college students. Her intent was to share the gospel. They recorded their conversation.
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Honoring MLK
Shann was an A student but not a real reader when I met him and now he teaches in the PhD department of Gonzaga’s Leadership program reading 250+ paged dissertations.
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Greetings and Partings
My husband Shann and I often celebrate that we live in the Golden Age of research. We can communicate to anyone, regardless of philosophy or religion, what truly works and what does not.
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Preeminence
Team chemistry is vital to becoming a championship-level team. Researchers have found the importance of both task chemistry and social chemistry. Task chemistry is a requirement for success.
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God
I follow a physics Facebook page as Shann and I are both interested in quantum physics.
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Love in Public
I heard a beautiful quote that justice is love in public. What does loving look like? How much does my desire for love become thwarted by my own dysfunction and aspire for control?
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Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is not my favorite in terms of beauty. The water is brown, much of the city is worn down and the tree in our Spokane backyard is prettier than the entire urban sprawl.
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Culture Wars
I have frustration at the hypocrisy and moralism of certain forms of Christianity in America’s extreme right. Men measuring the skirts of young girls and calling these young women sinners is appalling.
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Banquet Table
My dad deeply loved Psalm 23. He meditated on it often. As I read C.S. Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms , he brings attention to something I haven’t considered.
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Worth the Pain
I have been missing Dad so much lately. I walked by a neighborhood bench where he liked to sit and pray and shocked myself by bursting into tears. They came without warning.
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Set the Table
Dad loved the phrase, “Set the Table.” For him, it was a call to action for those in leadership to provide a space for true community and transformation to occur.
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Accused and Accuser
Jesus always touches me. I am reading about His interaction with the Pharisees and the woman caught in adultery. He takes a woman who had done wrong. She was morally guilty, and He showed her forgiveness.
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The Danger of Must
I recently wrote a piece about Dad being an amazing culture changer and described with intensity a father who neglects his daughter and a mother who criticizes hers.
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Heartbreak
Recently Shann and I participated in a contemplative prayer retreat. One of the beautiful and elegant questions asked was, “What breaks your heart?” One of the things that breaks my heart is a child without a loving, present…
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Words of Love: The Source of Love
A friend asked me the other day why I thought Dad was so dynamic and incredibly loving to others. He told me he doesn’t know anyone like my Dad, who knew and cared about so many people.
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Caretaker
I asked Mom what she would like to say in Words of Hope as my Dad’s caretaker for over twelve years. I think caretaking might be even more grueling than having cancer.
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Essential Art
Last year we were in NYC to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. We were with some friends who are artists. For me, art is truly the only way I can process tragedies.
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The Miraculous Soul
Probably the phrase most people associate with my Dad is, “You are a miracle.” I remember when he started to change his perspective from seeing big crowds of people with irritation to wonder and gratitude.
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Dogging Dogmatism Part 2
Yesterday, I wrote about my Dad’s response to people aggressively purporting their beliefs. Dad’s navigation of dogmatism greatly influenced me.
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Love Without Return
My Dad valued people from all walks of life. He thanked and honored those many would overlook. He believed in leaving places better than when you found them. He honored janitors and housekeeping staff.
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Loneliness Observed Part 2
I met “Margo” at camp. She loved hoops and baggy shorts and had a cutting-edge fashion style. She found her mother dead when she was a very young child.
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Eyes That See the Need
Dad and I often wondered why people work and live together without knowing each other. This distance creates a supreme sense of loneliness. Proximity without intimacy. Habitation without a home.
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Relational Laziness
Dad worked on relationships. Scott Peck, who wrote a bestselling book, “The Road Less Travelled,” discussed how laziness, in his opinion, is the biggest obstacle to love. I see that in my life.
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Do the Difficult
I had another dream of Dad. I saw him walking with mom into the door of the church where we hold the NBC musical theatre camp.
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Love’s Discipline
Shann teaches poetry at Stanford, and our family is doing the lectures and lessons together. I can’t believe how incredible this experience has been. I have been a lousy student.
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Admirable Faith
My dear friend Josh met Dad in Hawaii. Josh brought his daughter to camp and spent the days watching the coaches and observing. He had drifted away from God, his family, and his life purpose.
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Clothe Yourselves
One of my dad’s favorite scriptures was Colossians 3:12-17. It starts, “Therefore as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion… Dad loved imagining clothing himself with these intangible qualities.
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The Highest Goals
My Dad was incredibly pragmatic. He was a genius at making complex concepts simple and easy to understand.
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The Generational Journey
When I first met Shann’s father Tom, he seemed very distant. We would enter the house after having traveled far to get there, and Tom would remain on the couch and give us a two-finger greeting while continuing…
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Always
I cannot express how grateful I am that my Dad was a student of loving well. He made it his life mission to love God and love people.
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Memorial Day
In the book of John, we have this definition of love, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lays his life down for his friends.” In this brief definition, we have the image of love involving…
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The Psalm 1 Tree
I recently asked what is bringing someone joy lately, and he responded by learning about trees. He said with all the latest advances in forestry, so much is being learned about trees no one knew before.
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Building a Loving Home
When Shann and I had three daughters, we imagined a home full of love and joy for one another. How could we make this dream a reality?
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Only Seven Seconds
Shann and Bella had a late-night this week, and I was alone in the house for the first time in a while. I sat on the couch watching the sunset.
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A Novel Point of View
Dad and I loved to read. I am currently reading Graham Greene’s book, The Ministry of Fear. Greene was a masterful writer and author of one of our favorite books, called The Power and the Glory.
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The Art of Love
Dad thought outside the box as a basketball coach and had insightful ways to keep students engaged.
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Thick Skin
Dad and I struggled with thin skin at times. We love people and want to be loved. Dad often encouraged me to have tough skin with a soft heart. I wrote down his advice.
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Start with the Necessary
Dad and I loved Francis of Assisi. He is one of my favorite people. One of the quotes I love is, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”…
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Marriage Experts
My parents were married for 58 years, and they deeply admired and loved each other. They worked hard to root out bitterness, detachment, infidelity, and dislike.
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Mumbai
Mumbai is a city of 28 million people. There were slums and poverty everywhere we went. People live in tin slabs with tar paper roofs and tarps on the hardened mud floors.
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Spotlight
We spotlight every meal, and it can be challenging to find new and meaningful ways to spotlight others.
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Valentine’s Day Story
I met Shann at basketball camp. We have been married 31 years. Dad met Shann before I did, and he adored Shann. He loved his work ethic, his compassion, and his deep love for Christ.
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Better People
One of the longtime slogans at NBC Camps is the mission to be better players and better people. Dad and I discussed this often—how can we create a place for people to become better?
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Relational Bravery
Dad was an extreme extrovert. He loved to be around people. My oldest is an extreme extrovert like her papa. She is constantly with friends and spending time with others.
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Loving Father
My brother called last week. I picked up the phone and heard a choking cry. I panicked. “What’s wrong?!” I said. Jay wept hard into the phone, “I miss Dad.” We cried together for a while.
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Master Teacher
Dad was a maverick and exceptional teacher. He grasped ways to make concepts understandable way before the science of pedagogy confirmed his teaching methods.
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MLK
A woman named Luska is one of NBC’s bright stars. She is brilliant and has an incredibly powerful mind.
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Honest Love
In an earlier Words of Hope, I shared a message Dad asked me to consider in the year of 2018. We had a relationship where we could ask things of each other.
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Family of God
I drove by a snowy park bench near the Spokane River yesterday. The last time I drove by this bench, Dad, Shann, Bella, and I sat there praying together on a summer evening.
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Delight
Dad traveled many days when I was young. He went all around the PNW recruiting for NBC Camps. His journey brought him to the Cheyenne Reservation, where he met my husband, Shann.
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The Third Option
Dad loved Jesus’s response to the Pharisees. They often tried to trap Jesus. He frequently faced either/or no-win decisions by them but Jesus offers the third option. Consider, for instance, the woman caught in adultery.
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Courage Erases Loneliness
How many of our friends and family struggle with feeling alone? My Dad loved the great poet Maya Angelou who said, “We, unaccustomed to courage, exiles from delight, live coiled in shells of loneliness.” Christmas is a time…
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Love must be Sincere
Dad believed fully what Mother Teresa said, “Christ’s love is always stronger than evil in the world… this kind of love begins at home.
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Relationship Over Rules
Dad disliked rules over relationships. In our home, he cared more that there was love in our hearts for God than if we went to church or read the Bible.
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Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood
My Dad loved the movie about Mr. Rogers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. He watched it many times.
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Love is Patient
My Dad had an abusive father, and so did my Mom. My Mom was born in November of 1941. A few weeks after she was born, Pearl Harbor was attacked.
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You are a Miracle
Dad delighted in people. Wherever he went, he made lifelong friends. On the day he died, I called many people whose numbers were on his phone to say goodbye. If we missed you, I am very sorry.
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Friendly Flowers
The other day Mom and I walked through our neighborhood together. We stopped to see a woman planting in her yard.
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Love Deeply from the Heart
I have talked with many people who felt loved and close to Dad, and they often tell me how much Dad meant.
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Generosity
My dad grew up extremely poor. He often told stories of the paper route he had when he was age nine.
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A Loving Dad
A few days after Dad died, my friend sent me a loving text and ended with: You won the “Dad of the century” award.
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Letters of Love
I opened Dad’s desk recently and found hundreds of random note cards. Some were covered in images of nature; others were blank white cards or cards printed with words like thank you or I love you.
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The Need to be Seen
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.
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Little Things
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.
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The Inside Story
Fred Rogers, the famous child inspirational television star, said, “There is an inside story for every outside behavior.” If every teacher, coach, and, most importantly, parents will understand every behavior a child exhibits has an inside story.
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Liking & Loving, Not Enough
Coach Crowell, I really like reading your book, Words of Hope!” “Coach Crowell, I love reading your blog, Words of Hope!” Thank you is my usual response. I’m grateful that what I write becomes a special blessing.
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Hope in 1865 – Hope in 2021
JUNE 3 is an important date. June 3, 1865, was the date for the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, as part of the Civil War (156 years ago).
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Choosing Great Friends
Pictured above is Jim Harrick – John Wooden – Fred Crowell. Coach Jim Harrick is one of the finest friends any person could ever have in a lifetime.
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Watching People with Wisdom, Part 2
As I inspire myself to love and good deeds, I realize I need to give more thoughtful attention and continuous care to watching over others.
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Kindness
Just one act of KINDNESS can change a life forever. It is a type of behavior marked by favorable acts of generosity, consideration, and concern. What might some of these be?
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Pain Comes in the Night
JOY COMES IN THE MORNING I BELONG TO JESUS JESUS IS MINE As boys Father Crowell trained us to not shed tears.
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My Life Meaning
A good Friday to you, dear friends! Let’s start today’s Word of Hopefulness with two inciteful, elegant questions, answering Yes or No. Do you know why are you alive?
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Personal Letters & Delicious Omelets
Dear FRIDAY WITH FRED Friends, Today’s communication is to lift your spirit and inspire you to positive caring, life-giving, yet enjoyable actions. Personally, one of my delightful actions is reading and writing letters .
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Tough Minds Soft Hearts
A tribute to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. How many coloreds are you going to play at a time in the game tomorrow night?
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Just Love People
Life offers no greater gift with greater rewards than just loving people for no other motive than to love.
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Be Nice
Kindness Is Contagious is a valuable educational documentary on the magic of kindness. Of all the species on earth, the most helpless for the longest period of time is in the human child.
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Grateful for Gifts
Once in a while, I question why I find such joyful delight when I receive a grateful expression.
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Have Courage Be Kind
You can change the world! Think big! But… start small! Today’s world is fragile, imperiled, hurt, unknown, in a type of bubble.
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Love Hurting People
The customary “How are you doing” greeting continues to receive the same casual responses of either “Good,” “fine,” or “ok.” Yet, today there may be a big difference when those replies are given.
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People Bridges
SPOKANE IS A CITY OF BRIDGES. These bridges are crucial for connecting south and north Spokane. This city has the truly magnificent Spokane River which is a tributary to the mighty Columbia River a hundred miles away.
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Coach Ed Pepple
Ed Pepple (1932-2020) was a great high school basketball coach for 49 years in the state of Washington, 42 of those years at Mercer Island High School.
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If You Wanna Cry, America, Cry for Our Cities
What is my favorite city in the USA? Perhaps New York City! Traveling to the Big Apple for great Broadway plays with our musical Ferch family was fun. Next, maybe big California cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles)!
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Mookie Fights Cancer
Meet Mookie! He lives in Thailand. He is a favorite at NBC Camps; always smiling, inspirational, hard-working, and a pure delight to teammates and coaches. Why is Mookie our hero?
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Every Single Black Life Matters
We are in an intense and painful season of humanity. As a former basketball coach, I need to call a TIMEOUT. Coaches know teams need to reset when the game gets out of control.
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Love Is Learned Behavior
Hundreds, possibly thousands of times, NBC camp students have told me these words, “I know my father loves me but I have never heard him say, I love you.” Why is this so?
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The Two Way Mirror
Mirror Mirror in my hand who has a pure clean glass that can show reflection in two directions; first at me; second to my world set before me.
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A Healthy Coach Has Character
This guest Words of Hope is written by Janice Foland. OUR KIDS NEED HEALTHY COACHES WITH CHARACTER. How do we select healthy coaches for our kids?
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Boomerang
Today’s culture uses “boomerang” in many settings, especially over the Internet. It is a phenomenon today, a cause and effect, a return to the originator.
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Van Gogh – Loving People
Some amazing quotes by one of my favorite artists: “I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” “Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and…
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Is Your Quiver Full
In the days of old a quiver full of quality arrows was a must. It was the difference between life and death. The Psalmist used a quiver as a simile for a man having many sons.
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Logic Requires Imagination Imagination Needs Logic
Logic is like dry toast. Toast with butter and jam is like logic soaked with imagination. Dry toast gives nourishment. Toast with butter and jam provides nourishment and delight.
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World of People and Things
“If you love things more than people you will use people to get things, i f you love people more than things you will use things to help people.” One of my favorite men gave up his high…
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The Wise Parent
The wise parent knows and understands that the ultimate test of successful parenting is the day when their son or daughter has matured to the place the parent(s) is able to say… “Amazing child you now are ready…
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I Just Called to Tell You
Stevie Wonder made famous the song, I Just Called To Say I Love You with the popular lyrics, “I just called to say I love you; I just called to say how much I care.” How does it…
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Dealing with Difficult People – Appreciate Awesome People!
A human flaw is our overpowered magnetic attraction to negativity. Negative people disrupt and influence us more easily than positive people and the beautiful energy force we receive from them. Why is this?
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Love People or Love Things
In this world of people and things, we can either love people more than things, or things more than people. If we love things more the people, we will use people to get things.
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Hopefest
Spokane Hoopfest is the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world. Nearly 6000 four-player teams of all ages and sexes battle on the streets of the River City at the end of June.
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Too Late May Be a Tragedy
“I love you Mom!” Oh, how I wish I would have told Katheen Mitchell Crowell these four simple words before her death. However, speaking love was not in our family’s vocabulary. It was not spoken…ever.
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Therefore Implies Act Logic, Part 2
At Thanksgiving, we can be grateful for new hearts with new garments to put on. As St.
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Authentic Genuine Love
Sitting in her wheelchair with a dog in her lap, a lady wheeled herself across one of Spokane’s busiest streets.
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Hello Metlakatla
HelloMetlakatla, Alaska Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators and School Board Members, The 2018-19 school year is here! Can we make it the best school year in the history of the miracle Annette Island family of people?
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Kindness
The translation of an ancient word for kindness means useful goodness . The ancient Greeks and Romans had a word chréstotés for slaves who went beyond being good.
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Love Trumps All
One of my favorite hobbies is playing cards with friends. Bridge, Hearts, Pinochle, Casino, 10 To 1, Rummy and Cribbage are all card games I like.
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Today Will Never Come Again
“Do something special. ” It is absolutely amazing the difference there is when one decides to, “have not a good day, but a great day.” Today I decide, to make today a Great Day.
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Refresh to Be Refreshed
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. – Proverbs 11:25 Racketball, handball, and squash initially are very difficult games to play until you learn a critical skill.
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The Wonder of Children
Let’s delight in children. Enjoy these photos and videos of kids at NBC camps. “Dad I never knew how much you loved me until I had a child.” – Thankful Father “All I have ever wanted to be…
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Puppy Love – Human Love
It’s amazing how quickly puppies learn to love the one who serves them with food and continuous attention. In the human realm, nothing compares to the sacrifice of laying your life down for another.
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Every Day Heroes
“Superstar heroes don’t love you enough to be with you in tough times.” Today I lift up one of my most loved everyday heroes.
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Oxygen Is Encouragement – Encouragement Is Oxygen
Both oxygen and encouragement cure disease and negativity. Lack of oxygen and encouragement create poor physical, mental, and spiritual health. One of the most amazing women living today, in Dillingham, Alaska, was transported to Anchorage.
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Puppy Love
What if people loved other people like people love puppies? What a wonderful world it would be. Puppies are like people in so many ways. Puppies and people need oxygen. Puppies and people need water.
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Travel – Sites or People
“I travel not to see imposing monuments. Which indeed somewhat bore me. Nor beautiful scenery, of which I soon tire. I avoid the great.
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Goodbye Mighty Mite
An emergency call from Spokane to our stateroom 7051 on the MS Rotterdam, as we prepared to enter the Panama Canal, brought sad news.
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Harmony and Rhythm
Two character traits worthy of pursuit. Basketball is an excellent life skills teacher IF the coach has mastered the difficult skill of living above the line.
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Meet a Modern Day Angel
You His mighty angels doing His bidding. – Psalm 103 Today Jan Foland emailed her drawing of her vision of a sacred place.
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Sister Love
Three Crowell-Ferch sisters demonstrate the beauty, grace, and power of love. Natalya Alexis is a sophomore at Oklahoma City University. Ariana Alexis is a freshman at the Oaks Classical Christian Academy.
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Building Snow People – Building a Better Me
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away all things become new. When my granddaughter built her snowman, I was really impressed with her imagination and her skill.
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Human Arrows in Your Quiver – Part 2
Imagine an arrow being one of the most important people in your life. What lessons can be learned from an experienced bow hunter? Imagine hunting with the finest bow without one arrow in your quiver.
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Rescued
Who is most grateful? The one rescued or the one who does the rescuing? Going back to the four pillars that form the foundation for one’s belief system: Control your Environment – choice of people.
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Love People More Than Things
If we love people more than things we will use things to help people If we love things more than people we will use people to get things. Today I shift the focus from Matthew to Paul.
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I Can Hardly Imagine
Anacortes basketball boy becomes basketball old man in China. Today is my first day in Beijing. My partner Mr. Lao Yang tells me we meet some “Big People” this morning.
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All Paths Lead Somewhere
Mike is an amazing example of a miracle. Former superintendent of schools, coached two Washington State girls’ state basketball teams and one golf championship team. Judy was the love of Mike and their son Eric’s lives.
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The Charlene Lopez Story
How one woman changes lives through hard work and loving people! Char is a legend in Dillingham, a beautiful, one hour Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage. The 2,500 population swells to 10,000 during the summer fishing season.
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Tribute to Mr. Gene Avey
“A dear friend to all dedicated to educating youth, to dream dreams, to love life, to serve family with no reservation and, in a quiet, gentle manner, be all His for the glory of God.
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Delight in People & People Delight in You
St Paul records multitudes of brilliant life giving principles. One used often among motivational experts is in the Apostles encouragement to the Galatians.
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TRUE SUCCESS! What is it?
Greetings from the Garden Island of Kauai. Few places on earth match the breathless beauty of Kauai.
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Put Away Your Sword
A lesson from Matthew 26 Imitation is the FATHER OF LEARNING At a crucial moment, when Jesus was being arrested, he told Peter to put away his sword. Sports camps can be challenging businesses. Competition is tough.
