There’s a great scene in the film Forrest Gump that relates to today’s readings. In the movie, Captain Dan lost his legs in a battle that he believes was a sign of his failure as a leader.

My daughter was having a meltdown in the middle of the lobby of the Playboy Building, which, oddly enough, houses her pediatrician’s office. She did not want to leave, but she didn’t want to stay.

A local blood bank has the name LifeSource. Blood indeed is what keeps us alive as it courses through our veins bringing in oxygen and taking out carbon dioxide.

As a lover of words, I was fascinated to learn that the root of the word liturgy comes from Latin for “work of the people.” What an amazing insight that brings to the central ritual of Christianity.

I was in my friend Billy’s kitchen waiting for him to come downstairs so we could go out and play. Billy was the oldest of nine kids.

Nicknames: Did you have one? Did you like it? Did it stick with you? Some nicknames are pretty obvious in their origins like “Shorty” or “Lefty” or “Irish.” Some clearly were terms of endearment given to a baby or a child that stuck like “Baby” or “Junior.”

Whenever you hear about a public figure’s son or daughter messing up, you just want to say, “What were you thinking? Don’t you know your father is the mayor,” or “Your mother is school principal?”

A friend of mine likes to say, “Ninety percent of being successful in life is just showing up.” I think this is especially true for parents.

Catch the spirit! Celebrate the spirit! We’ve got spirit! Schools, businesses, yes, even churches set aside time to fire up people so that they will perform better, respond faster, show more excitement about what they are doing.

Ali is a simple carpenter now, but his boss, Abe, knows that he was once a colonel in the army–strong, disciplined, brave, and loyal.