My father died in 1992 at the age of 71. He was a wonderful Christian, husband, and father . . . in that order. To the best of his ability he tried to understand the teachings of Jesus and to live his life accordingly. I was my father’s greatest disappointment. It’s not that I’m… Continue reading →
As I write, I am listening to a teacher’s voice, on-line, conducting a live lesson intended to prepare a group of homeschooled fourth graders for their state testing. These children have been pulled out of the public school system for many reasons. Some are the children of free-spirited parents who are raising their children on… Continue reading →
Even though I wrote “Breakfast at McDonald’s:Reflections on Voices and Values” in 1999, I still remember the thoughts that were running through my mind that day like it was yesterday. I don’t think I ever shared it with anyone except Molly’s mother because I felt like it was too negative, too pessimistic. I felt that… Continue reading →
I wrote this poem the day after my daughter called to tell us that she was pregnant. On January 28, 2014 and we were in our RV at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta, California. The news came as a shock for many reasons, and I’m afraid that my tone on the phone was not one… Continue reading →
This is not the same picture that I describe in “Memory Pictures,” but it is the same Paul. In this one he’s taking a picture of another sunset – 25 years later, and 40 miles north – from our home in The Cove at Brookings. When he took picture he called Beyond the End… Continue reading →
I wrote this piece during Spring Break in 1998 just after meeting my first nephew, Tanner. Tanner was 6 months old. Less than a month ago, on May 27, 2016, I got to watch Tanner giving the Salutatorian address at Oakmont High School in Roseville, CA. He’s off to Cal Tech in the fall …… Continue reading →
Jesus says nothing about focusing on the family. In fact, he said quite the opposite. A quick Google search for the question “What did Jesus say about family?” led me to pages and pages of sites that try to dispel the literal interpretation of Luke 14:22-27 where He says we must “hate” our family to… Continue reading →
The children who were the focus for Leadership 2020 when I began writing about them in 1997 are no longer children. Their children will soon take their places, and the efforts that were being made 15 years ago to replace a one-size-fits-all school system with one that would support the uniqueness of each individual child… Continue reading →
It’s New Year’s Day 2015, and if I made any resolutions a year ago I’m sure I didn’t keep them. That’s not surprising because I realized a long time ago that it works best for me to write my resolutions at the end of the year instead of at the beginning. If I had made… Continue reading →
When my daughter was 17 years old, we began talking about writing a book together. Several years later – after she had failed in many attempts to become sober – we returned to the idea of writing a book together and begin calling it Pillar of Fire: A Journey through Teenage Addiction. Shannon is now… Continue reading →
We’ve been sitting out in the middle of the desert about 5 miles from Quartzsite, Arizona for the past week and a half. Today we’re leaving for Lake Cahuilla – a little known County Park tucked directly behind PGA West in La Quinta, CA. Quartzsite is a strange little town. It’s almost a ghost… Continue reading →
