Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. James 4:16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. I’ve been thinking about pride, mostly because I suffer from it. I realized my affliction because I recently suffered some painful experiences

I’m just finishing the biography of John D. Rockefeller, the richest man – EVER! Rockefeller with his Standard Oil Company began his march to monopoly as a very young man. This was what Mark Twain called the gilded age. A time where men like Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and others amassed huge fortunes while turning America from an agrarian society to an economic and industrial super power. Did you know for the first 35 years of the oil b

Job 4:5 But now trouble comes to you and you are discouraged; it strikes you and you are dismayed. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. It was quite a few years ago. I rather un-diplomatically stated at a church board meeting that I thought our church was great at fellowship, but we were lacking in spiritual growth. A few mont

That's my dad on the potato wagon, third from the left. It's hard for me to imagine that as my sons give me some incredible new technology every Christmas, my dad actually farmed with horses just 75 years ago. We are living in a time I'm sure history will reflect as a renaissance. I like history. I even considered being a history teacher for a brief time. I studied a great deal of architectural and world history in college. Whenever I have time, I love to watch histor

1 Samuel 17:48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran toward the battle line to meet him. Daniel 6:23 .....and Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he trusted in God. Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" I'm just back from a

I’ve discovered a 2 part formula to help achieve that goal; Live longer and live more fully. Let’s start with living longer. I first met Dr. Samuelson when I made an appointment for shoulder surgery. Before I get into the details of living longer, let me say my surgery turned out great! The pain is gone and my golf game is back (well as back as my golf game can be). Just wish I had him do the other shoulder when I had that done 14 years ago. In the course of my trea

Do you remember the 1983 movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation” staring Chevy Chase? It’s a successful comedy that lead to a whole series of sequels. There is a scene in the movie that I actually lived in about 1978, and I’m puzzled as to how they heard about it. Might I actually be entitled to some royalties? If you want to see the clip go to YouTube and search “National Lampoon’s Vacation Car Scene”. Clark Griswold (Chase) takes his family on a vacation in a brand new, “me

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. At 211˚ water is hot. At 212˚ it boils. With boiling water comes steam, and with steam you can power a train. Just one extra degree makes all the difference between something hot, and something extremely powerful. I wish these were original thoughts, but the truth is much of what I’m relaying is paraphrased from Sam Parker. Sam is an author and motivational

It was our first trip to Europe. We had toured Italy for eight days and were taking a bullet train to Basel, Switzerland to begin a river cruise. Rhonda won the cruise, but I guess you knew she was lucky because she got me right? (I sense your groans) We were in a foreign land, not yet experienced in leading tours let alone traveling through Europe. Italy was fantastic, but I was a bit shocked when our lunch on the train, a small, shared lettuce salad, a shared cup of s