Category Archives: Uncategorized

When I was in graduate school, I had a chance to express my research interests and what I chose to study was a negotiation between me and my dissertation director. He had the things he was interested in and I … Continue reading →

As a communication teacher, I know that one of the most basic lessons has to do with receiving messages. To keep this simple, hearing is the mechanical reception of sound waves. I used to tell my students that if you … Continue reading →

“I just feel guilty I am not doing more in the world.” Just last night I led a book club discussion and the book* closely parallels the book we are studying**. That direct quote is from the book, a tale … Continue reading →

Sometimes we read things and think, “No, not me! I don’t do that!” We can’t say that about perception or maybe we should use Pastor Labberton’s term “misperception.”* We all misperceive. It is our nature. We think we know others … Continue reading →

What’s inside is outside… As a society, too often we “pull the trigger” on a conclusion when we see people act. Maybe that is a good thing; maybe it is not. For the past two weeks, many people in our … Continue reading →

Lots of us pay attention to words. We have to use them to convey thoughts from our minds to the minds of others. As someone who has studied words, I tend to pay attention to words that come and words … Continue reading →

I love my adult Sunday school class. It is a collection of people with all kinds of backgrounds, orientations if you will. I have a twenty-year-old and the age goes up from there [maybe to mid seventies, no one is … Continue reading →

We all have them. “Alarms” that tell us what to say and how to behave when we find ourselves surrounded by people we do not know. Here is what we want. We want to be around people who are accepting … Continue reading →

In 2006, I saw a popular movie starring Matthew McConaughey entitled “Failure to Launch.” McConaughey played a thirty-something young man who still lived at home with his parents and he had absolutely no interest in leaving their home. The premise … Continue reading →

It is hard to admit this but I waste water. Do you? When I brush my teeth at night, I run the water needlessly. When I shower, I spend extra time in there and sometimes I use our Jacuzzi tub … Continue reading →