Maya Angelou was onto something profound when she said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” She might have been echoing Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous prayer — the one Alcoholics Anonymous adopted — which asks for serenity to accept what can’t be changed and courage to change what …
Do you know what it’s like to be passed over? It stings. You had the perfect qualifications and didn’t get the job. “The one they chose was a friend of a friend of the personnel director,” someone whispered to you later. Or you were every bit as good as the player the coach put in …
Our daughter, Mary, texted me early one morning. “I’ve been praying that prayer to Lionel before bed — the one you always said to Dave and me growing up…it reminds me of you praying for us as you took us to school.” Lionel is her six-month-old son. I smiled and thought, “She’s remembered that prayer all …
My friend Bobby texted me, asking for prayer. We’ve been close friends for twenty-five years. Bobby’s one of those guys you can reconnect with after months of absence and pick up where you left off, like you talked just the other day. Bobby informed me that lifting all those heavy squats had finally caught up …
After a prayer of gratitude, Lori and I clinked our water glasses together to celebrate. We were eating at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. “Here’s to a cancer-free life and no more tamoxifen,” I said. It had been almost four years since her initial diagnosis and surgery. Then she began taking tamoxifen, a drug …
Read more “Clinking Glasses and Giving Thanks: The Biblical Case for Celebration “