Daly Focus Blog
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a day I don’t remember, but a day that’s had an impact on my life, and likely on yours, too.
I’ve been thinking about August 28th, 1963 – exactly fifty-one years ago tomorrow, in fact.
I was just two years old and living in West Covina.
Life is simple for a two-year-old, but 3,000 miles away in Washington D.C., a dramatic moment was underway. There, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Is it just me, or have you noticed a real increase in downright meanness online these days?
While cruel and hateful words can rear their heads just about anywhere, unkindness is especially intense in the social media world. It seems the gloves can come off and a verbal free-for-all can explode at almost any time. Sadly, this is too often the approach of professing believers and non-believers alike. It can be sparked by even what may at first seem to be the most innocent of topics.
I’m not sure what it is about cat videos but the Internet is full of clips about felines – cute ones, grumpy ones, you name it.
“Dear Kitten,” one of the latest to go viral, is actually a commercial for a particular brand of cat food, but the creators pack a lot of meaning into it.
Now even if you’re not a cat person, you have to admit that kittens are cute. But there’s something even more appealing about this video.
Every so often it’s good to get little reminders that serve as something of a reset button for what’s truly important in life.
I recently experienced that when a colleague of mine shared some thoughts he found online from a palliative care nurse.
As you can imagine, when each work day is spent caring for folks in the final weeks of their lives, the subject matter tends to dip below the surface to what’s truly meaningful.
I spend a lot of time in airports.
Air travel is a little easier when you love your job – as I do – and when I can pass the time in between flights visiting with my fellow travelers. Some of the most interesting conversations I’ve had have taken place in an airport … maybe because people there come off a little more honest, a little more vulnerable, with those they likely won’t see again.
But I’m finding those airport conversations a little harder to come by.
The title of “teacher” is a great one. It conveys passing along wisdom, knowledge and nurturing.
Most of us, looking back, can identify at least one teacher who poured into us. It might have been the elementary school teacher who comforted us, or the high school teacher who encouraged us to believe that God made us capable of achieving our dreams. Whatever it was, their care made a big difference in our lives.
He saw my potential
I remember my “teacher.” He was my high school football coach, Paul Moro.
Typing and “quick communication” have taken over our lives.
From the endless emails that are part of many of our jobs to text messages asking if someone can pick up bread and milk on their way home, typing has largely replaced handwriting.
Scientists are beginning to warn us that this move to all things technology isn’t completely beneficial. Last month The Boston Globe’s article “Taking notes? Bring a pen, skip the computer” connected handwriting with memory retention.
Get the tissues out, because this story will tug at your heartstrings.
Canadian freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau won gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics yesterday, the second of his career. And right there cheering him on was his older brother, Frederic. After the big win Monday, the brothers hugged, with Alex lifting Frederic over the fence so they could celebrate together.
Frederic’s support, and the manner with which he has dealt with his physical impediments have inspired Alex throughout his many years of training.
Here in Colorado all eyes will be on Sunday’s AFC Championship game between our hometown Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. But following that contest is another marquee matchup. The Seattle Seahawks will be playing the San Francisco 49ers for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Regardless of which team you’re rooting for, I think you’ll be inspired by the story of 23-year-old Seattle fullback Derrick Coleman.
Coleman is the first legally deaf offensive player in NFL history.
The other day I found my boys, Trent and Troy, giggling over an old photo album they’d found. After plopping into the couch with them and enduring some good-natured ribbing about old hairstyles and clothing choices their mother and I had once made, one photo in particular grabbed my attention.
It was a snapshot of me with my arm around Troy’s shoulder when he was about five years old. I was immediately struck by how much he looked like me at that same age.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
