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From time to time, moments arise in our lives that require us to stretch farther than we ever have before, to rise to the greatness that we didn’t know we had within us. For one young couple, it happened when their twin girls were born. All of the anticipation and expectation of the long-awaited day […]
We live in an age of disposable goods. It seems that so many of our material things are made to be enjoyed for a brief moment and then thrown away. If something breaks or loses our interest, we quickly toss it aside and run to the store for a new one. It wasn’t always that […]
Sometimes relationships flounder because we don’t convey enough genuine love—or perhaps we don’t convey it in quite the right ways. In our zeal to help loved ones improve, maybe we focus too much on how we think they should change instead of communicating sincere acceptance and appreciation for who they are. Just as plants thrive […]
Most of us would agree with the lyrics of the well-known song, “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you.”1 But did you know that smiling may also be good for your health? Researchers are finding that smiling slows down the heart rate, reduces stress, and can make you feel happier. In fact, some […]
Anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and other commemorations are an important part of life. They give us a chance to mark our progress, celebrate for a moment our accomplishments and growth, and renew our bonds as a family, community, and nation. And so today we celebrate this land that we love. As we do, we recognize that […]
With great excitement, a woman nearly 90 years old smiles at her grandson as he installs a new computer in her home. “Now I can get emails and pictures over the Internet,” she says, so happy to learn about technology that could help her stay in touch with loved ones. Elsewhere, an elderly man sits […]
Popular culture and media sometimes portray fathers as either unnecessary or incompetent, and yes, there are bad fathers who are unworthy of the name. But let’s not forget, most fathers give their all for their families. Most do their best to be there for their kids, to set good examples and show their children how […]
A few years ago, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania studied the lives of National Spelling Bee finalists. She wanted to find out how they reached this significant accomplishment. Many people assume that they are just smarter than their peers. But the researcher found in these young people a trait more important than […]
The Lesson of the Spoon Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell Sometimes we can learn great life lessons from the simple things around us. Have you ever looked at your reflection in a spoon? When the inward-curving, concave side is turned toward us, our image is reflected upside down. But if we turn the spoon […]
Pause and Remember Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell There are few things more soul-stirring than to see veterans salute the flag they have honored and defended. Their salute reflects the kind of knowledge that can come only from experience, the humble pride born of defending the cause of liberty. To them, that flag represents freedom […]
Delivered By: Lloyd D. NewellMost marriages start out like a glowing fire, full of warmth and light. But anyone who has been married for very long knows that keeping a marriage burning strong and healthy takes effort and commitment. Like a fire, love needs constant attention and nurturing through words and acts of affection and […]
There are mothers all over the world. No matter the language, culture or continent, what a difference a mother makes. She is the purveyor of love and tenderness, which prompts nation after nation from America to Ethiopia, Thailand to my homeland of Wales to honor mothers with a day of tribute once a year. The […]
Max Ehrmann loved to write. And so, after practicing law for a few years and bouncing between the meatpacking and manufacturing industries, he set it all aside, picked up a pen, and turned to writing full-time. Throughout his life he published books and essays and poems that reflected his wisdom, his passion for the written […]
A wise man who has experienced much in life recalled how, as a boy, he and his friends used to carve toy boats out of wood and race them down the river. They quickly realized that their boats were completely at the mercy of the current; if it led a boat into a whirlpool or […]
In this remarkable age, everything seems to be moving faster and faster. The Internet provides almost instantaneous information; communication crosses oceans and continents in a flash. Nearly all of us live fast-paced, hectic lifestyles. Like the view of the countryside from a speeding car, life sometimes seems to go by in a blur. The speed […]
Music has been called the timeless and universal language—a language of peace, of love, of hope. No matter where we live, regardless of our age and stage of life, music can lift and inspire us, it can soften and console us, it can instruct and entertain us. Such music becomes like a lifelong friend—we can […]
For many years, a husband and wife had been gathering branches that fell from the trees on their heavily wooded lot. One by one they stacked the branches in a pile next to the creek in their backyard. As time went on, the mound grew into a mountain of wood, and they finally determined they […]
One cold day, toward the end of a long, snowy winter, a family noticed serious damage to the beautiful ivy that grew on the outside of their home. It seemed that hungry deer had been feeding on it throughout the winter, until nothing but a tangle of brown sticks remained. The tender plants appeared damaged […]
We live in a world that seems to have stopped listening. Sound bites have replaced conversation; texting has displaced telephone calls; rhetoric has supplanted dialogue; and multitasking has divided our attention. So often, listening isn’t on the list of things to do and so it gets overlooked. Famed solo percussionist and composer Dame Evelyn Glennie, […]
When Adam Geibel was only nine days old, he caught a cold that led to an eye infection. What should have been a routine treatment for the infection went tragically wrong, and he was left blind for the rest of his life. Tragic accidents like this one can sometimes discourage people from striving to achieve […]
The classic western film Shane depicts a tragic conflict between ranchers and farmers. In one scene, the distressed wife of a farmer, feeling a need for comfort in the troubled situation, runs to her husband’s arms and says, “Hold me. Don’t say anything. Just hold me—tight.” She didn’t need advice or even kind words, just […]
The Gallup organization recently released a poll whose purpose was to measure positive emotions worldwide. A thousand people in more than a hundred countries were contacted and asked about their previous day. How often had they smiled or laughed? Did they feel respected? Did they learn or accomplish something interesting? According to the survey, the […]
Have you ever bumped into someone you knew years ago, surprised to find how much he or she had changed for the better? Life is full of little miracles, but this is perhaps the greatest miracle of all—to see people change, grow, and improve, day by day and little by little. Imagine how different life […]
When was the last time you tried something you had never done before? As creatures of habit, we tend to eat the same foods, take the same route home from work, and surround ourselves with the same people every day. There’s comfort in the familiar—that’s why we call it our “comfort zone.” But how many […]
The love shared between George and Martha Washington continues to inspire one generation after another. George and Martha loved each other not just in times of peace but also through the separation and hardships of war. For 40 years they supported, confided in, and trusted one another. They had each other’s best interests at heart. […]
Most of us have some treasures, souvenirs, and mementos around that mean a great deal to us. They might include a photo or knick-knack, an item that has special meaning. Perhaps they remind us of a loved one, a favorite vacation, a treasured memory, a special place or event. Some of these items are tossed […]
You don’t have to travel far down the path of life to realize that it’s full of stumbling blocks. Avoiding them is an important skill, but perhaps even more important is the ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and keep going after we’ve stumbled—and we all do from time to time. In the […]
Music is inseparable from life. Its influence is felt both in our personal lives and in the course of history—perhaps most powerfully in the way it has given voice to noble causes throughout the ages. Never was this more evident than during the civil rights movement of decades past. Martin Luther King Jr. said of […]
For well over 200 years, the United States Military Academy at West Point, an institution filled with traditions of excellence and achievement, has observed a curious tradition on graduation day. “Every year, the last-ranking cadet to make it through to graduation is anointed the goat, showered with praise, given a dollar from every other fellow […]
No matter who we are or where we live, we all experience hardship. But some tragedies are so horrific or inexplicable that they break the hearts of concerned observers across the country—even around the world. At such moments, complete strangers come together to offer sympathy, comfort, and help. The human family unites in a demonstration […]