An old friend once told me that while taking a client out to lunch, his client asked if it would be okay if he prayed before they ate. Mark was fine with it, and before you know it, his client was thanking God for Mark. It puzzled him a bit, because Mark was used to the same old memorized prayer he'd prayed for years, and so it also made a huge impact on him - big enough that he thought about it a lot, and remembered it for a long time. Years later, it would become part of his testimony as the catalyst in his journey to becoming a Christian. Mark sharing this made an impact on me, too. So now, I like to pray for whoever I'm meeting or eating with. It's that ripple effect, ya know? My son once told me that he had lunch with a professor from his college days. Once they sat down ... View Post
Off Course
Once upon a time, a long, long, long time ago... 1988 to be precise... I attended PLDC (Primary Leadership Development Course) at Ford Ord, California while I was stationed at a Military Police Unit in San Jose, California. Wow, I just did the math on that. It was 35 years ago. Holy Toledo. I am old. Okay, back to the story... PLDC was a lot of classroom time, but a lot of it was also like doing basic training all over again. We ran super early in the morning, and a few times, we even had to run in formation in the sand on the beach. If I had to do that now, I'd probably just drop dead. Seriously. Again, back to the story... We had to go out to the field one day for an entire day of map reading. Each soldier was given a map, a compass, a protractor, and a list of ... View Post
Collecting “Stuff”
Currently, I'm sitting on my nice long porch, in one of my bright green chairs that makes it simple to find my condo, listening to the chimes my friend Linda gave me as a house warming gift a couple of years ago. From the sounds they're making, there might be a storm coming. I love a good storm, don't you? It was only a few years ago that I found it easy on an evening like this one, to sit outside and bust out a quick and meaningful blog. And it's still pretty easy for me to collect all sorts of ideas to write about. My brain is just full of them! But when I sit down to write, I'll be honest - I get concerned that I sound like a know-it-all, and I certainly don't want to be known for being a know-it-all. Nobody likes a know-it-all. And sometimes, I sit down, my fingers gently ... View Post
Detroit Cancer Screening Initiative
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded.” Leaving the world a bit better is exactly what a group of dedicated individuals, like-minded and passionate about saving lives is determined to accomplish. The Detroit Cancer Screening Initiative is a Michigan 501c3 non-profit charitable organization that was birthed from the collaborative efforts of concerned Detroit Metropolitan area community members with experience in clinical practice, teaching, and public health. Among these brilliant contributors are Nzube Ekpunobi, MD, Chief Medical Resident at Huron Valley Sinai Hospital, Detroit ... View Post
Going Forward
Out of the mouths of babes. I follow a little 6-year-old girl and her Mom & Dad on Instagram who are big into snowboarding - not because I'm into snowboarding, but because they make it look like so much fun. They travel all over the world and snowboard down the scariest slopes with the most breathtaking views. I guess one could say I'm just mindlessly scrolling, but to be honest, after watching a few of their reels, I kinda feel like I may have strengthened my calf muscles and burned off a few calories. Wishful thinking, I know, but say what you will - I enjoy keeping up with them. The little 6-year-old girl's name is Cash, but they frequently call her "Cashy," and she has coined this phrase, "If you're scared - do it scared!" Mom & Dad sell T-shirts and hats and all sorts of ... View Post
Wear The Bling Now – You Can’t Take It With Ya!
It's been said that I'd talk to anyone. I'd say that's mostly true, and one of my questions just about everyone gets is, "So, what did you do for a living?" You see, it's mostly elderly people I care for, so it's just always interesting to me to hear about their life, and it's encouraging to them too, that someone would be interested enough to ask about it. So I ask. Years ago, I cared for a 102-year-old woman who told me that she had at one time been an olive stuffer. She actually stuffed little green olives with little red pimentos. When I re-tell that story to people nowadays, they respond with the same question you probably just asked out loud, or at least thought in your head - "Don't they have machines that do that now?" Geez, I hope so. I mean, I love olives, but have to ... View Post
Stopping Time
There are those days. We all have them. Those days that we look up at the clock and it's 2:30 in the afternoon, and it feels as if we just finished our breakfast. On those days I often laugh and wonder if when we get to meet God face-to-face and ask all of our crazy questions, if He might just laugh and remind us. Perhaps He will say something like, "Remember those days when time seemed like it flew by? Yeah... it did, because I made it fly by! And remember those days when time seemed to draggggg..... It did, because I made it drag too!" Well, yesterday was one of both of those days. Time was flying along, and then, time stood still. And I am certain that time stood still because God just wanted to remind me of some things. He does that, you know. "My sheep listen to ... View Post
The Older I Get, the Less I Know
One hundred. That's likely the number of times I've sat down to write a blog in the past year, placed my fingertips on the keyboard, and... nothing. What happened to the days when I couldn't get home fast enough because stories were brewing in my brain? Seriously. I have about 25 drafts I've started, and never gone back to do anything with. Other times I just get frustrated and end up mindlessly scrolling on social media, or picking up a book and reading what someone else has to say. It's actually not a whole lot different tonight, and I'm wondering - will I get to the end of this blog, and decide it should just be hand-written in my personal journal? Perhaps. Imagine how relieved I was this morning when I had breakfast with my good friend and shared that I feel like ... View Post