January is the month for setting new goals and creating change in our life. However, a recent study shows that 80% (abc.columbia.com) of people who start, disregard those good intentions by February.

Excuses pile up and you’re back where you started. Reasons for abandoning these new goals may be “you’re too busy,” “you don’t have time to add one other item to your ‘to-do’ list,” “the weather is too hot or too cold,” or “I’ll start tomorrow.”

Members in our congregations will agree: keeping them is the problem. And I’ve heard this statement several times. “The only promise I ever make– is to ‘not’ make promises or vows!”

Several years ago on a cold January day, I visited my paternal grandmother who was at least 97 years at the time. Her hair was rolled up in those plastic pink curlers that were popular at the time. I could tell she had plans for the evening. So, I asked, “Grandmother, are you going out for the evening?”

Immediately, she gave me a sly grin and said, “Yes, there is a service at my church tonight and I’m going! Someone is picking me up.” [Read more…]

I flunked out of accounting 40 years ago, and that’s how I became the new editor of the Baptist and Reflector.

I should explain.

I enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University to study accounting. I wanted to be rich, and I figured accounting was my best shot. I mean, accountants deal in money, so they must all be rich, right? However, apparently one must actually pass accounting to eventually get to any money.

So, after three semesters I scooped up my 1.4 GPA, dropped out of college and joined the Naval Reserves, but determined to eventually get back to – and through — my beloved OBU. I endured boot camp then worked on F-14 Tomcat ejection seats. I spent weekends atop $40 million fighter jets wiring seat explosives and thinking, “These people would never let me anywhere near these planes if they really knew how mechanically inept I am.”

Hey, score high enough on the ASVAB and you too can handle explosives!

I returned to OBU the following fall, this time as a journalism major and my eyes lit up when I saw my first assignment was to create a game story from a baseball box score. Box scores had been my second language since third grade. [Read more…]