Life is not a game, so why are we continually Keeping Score? Pondering this weighty issue reminded me of a time many years ago when I was teaching an adaptive physical education course, and while we were playing a game in the gym, one of the student athletes, by the name of Mary Kosco Greer …
Category: Relational Equity
Refinement and Revision
“End of Construction – Thank you for your patience.” These words were chosen by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, for her gravestone, and they have arisen in my reading several times over the years. I’m not sure I can accurately articulate why the expression resonates so deeply within me. Perhaps the reason …
You Too?
Has there been an occurrence when you are actively listening to another person in a conversation, and your intent is not to interrupt, but truly Listen With Your Eyes; however, your mouth just blurts out, “You, too?” Often, this simple expression opens the door to a new Friendship Conversation that validates your experiences or feelings …
Flourishing Organizations
Today, I was deeply saddened to read a comment from a student in a graduate-level course who offered that my request for a book review was the first time they had been asked to complete one since seventh grade. My sincere hope is that this statement did not mean that during their educational formation they …
Friendship Conversations
In researching the characteristics typical of people who are considered to be flourishing at life, it should be no surprise how often someone’s ability to thrive is connected to the individuals with whom they have created Relational Equity, or as Shawn Anchor terms it in his book, The Happiness Advantage, social capital. As I continue …
Welcome to the Table
Daylight shines brightly from the reflected February snow over the black dining table in my home, highlighting the fact that it hasn’t been dusted in a while; however, there is a valid reason the dust bunnies are flourishing on my table, since no one has pulled up a chair in at least a month. This …
Gift of Winter by Beth Madison
Many times, God uses a time of mourning, even periods of Silent Grief, to activate joy which sprouts and blooms along with tears of weeping to bring the harvest of dancing, as seen in Psalm 30:11. As well as I know these truths in my head, my heart still yearns to refuse these realities since …
I Surrender
by John Byl, CSKLS Colleague and Friend (May 3, 2021) I surrender: To an Unknown Future, and an Uneasy Present & Surgical Oncologist Report The CT scan showed that I have two masses on my liver and a lesion on a vertebrae. The Surgical Oncologist is especially concerned with a lesion on the vertebrae …
Drowning in Doubt
Recently, when debating a wise answer to a professional invitation, a seasoned-at-life family member posed the question to me, “Will it be a burden or a joy?” My initial response was, “Both!” However, as I ponder both the opportunity and the question, a part of me feels as if I am Drowning in Doubt. These …
Teach Me
In one of my earliest posts entitled Just Be Curious, I divulged how grateful I am for people willing to risk admitting they lack some knowledge of a topic and are willing to ask thoughtful questions. More often than not, I strongly encourage a practice known as Appreciative Inquiry (AI), especially when engaging in building …
