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Leo's Lance: Our 'Dream' Vacation

Some time back, I had received an invitation to speak at a youth meeting sponsored by several churches on the west coast. 

For several years I had preached every Sunday morning and evening, as well as on Wednesday evenings at my local congregation, a small group of working class people who loved the Lord, but saw no need for offering the preacher a raise, or a vacation. 

I considered it was my place to preach and theirs to take care of the needs of me and my family. But I also knew they were not wealthy so they allowed me to work at other part time jobs for extra finances.

Musings by Marilou: ‘We Did it with Love and Compassion’

When I was in my first year of teaching in Oklahoma, I remember an older educator telling me, “Methods in teaching are always changing but everything goes full circle. It eventually always comes back around and, when it does, they will call it something different so you will think that it is something new.”  She was right on target. My only hope now is that once the extreme focus on testing runs it course, it never returns no matter what they try to call it.

Wright's Words: Roaring Back to the Top

Americans love a great underdog story. 

It is in our blood, dating back to the American Revolutionary War: a war we were never supposed to win in the eyes of many at time.

From political moments, such as when President Harry Truman defeated heavily favored Thomas Dewey to win the 1948 presidential election, to pop culture classics like Daniel Larusso’s defeat of Johnny Lawrence in the “All Valley Tournament” in the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, the underdog story is one we all can rally behind.

Thinking Out Loud: Return to Civilization

When last we visited the Cirque du Folle that is known as the Kavanaugh hearings two weeks ago, I thought we could wash our hands of the whole mess, let the opposition throw out their mindless little mudballs -- and miss, and let what appears to be an infinitely qualified jurist take his place on the High Court. Maybe Sen. Cory Booker would return for another entertaining "I am Spartacus" moment, and a "secret" e-mail that everybody had already read. And we could all laugh, and laugh.

Leo’s Lance: Beautiful, But Banned for Growing

Back in 1907, my grandfather stood out in his yard chatting with his children discussing many of the mysteries oflife.Suddenlythey heard a honking noise which they recognized as the sound of a flock of geese.

The children began looking around theyard for wherethe sound was coming from. They had no geese on their little farm, but the sound was surely that of the honking of geese. The observant father told them to look up.

Musings by Marilou: They Will Pull Through

Watching the newscasts this past week regarding the monster storm pounding the Carolinas brought back memories of fleeing the wrath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

We had heeded the mandatory evacuations imposed on the north shore of New Orleans and were making the trip to Houston.  Frenzied lines of motorists leaving south Louisiana had doubled the normally five-hour trek to ten but we knew we had no choice but to get out of Dodge and find a place to stay.

Analysis: Property Taxes Rise, State Education Spending Falls. That's the Design

The state’s budget situation improves as the financial load on Texas property owners increases. That makes for noisy and gnarly politics. 

An Adventure on Brady Creek

Leo’s Lance

Thinking Out Loud: Don't Call Them Heroes?

His name was Albert Martin. 

At 28 years old, he was what we might call a “millennial”. By Texas standards, he came from a spot in the road, a little backwater way up in the northeast, called Rhode Island. It was about as far from Texas as you could get.

Both his father and father-in-law had fought to make a country free from the British in the Revolutionary War. It was in his blood.

Mirror Ministries: Is it Okay to Vent to God

I don't know what your routine is, but mine looks a little like this:

1. Up early between 5:00 and 6:00 every morning

2. Fix a cup of coffee

3. Find my glasses (so I can focus)

4. Sit in my favorite chair with my Bible and iPad

5. Pray

6. Read my Bible and/or study book

7. Write

Simple, huh? That's what I thought, until I recently began to notice #5 wasn't acting right.