toddcast

My sons Shen and Bao may very well be competing in their last high school tennis tournament next week as doubles partners.   Over the last couple of years they have occasionally teamed up in men’s doubles, but this Spring has been a special time for me and my wife as the two have consistently teamed up, and they’ve done quite well. Shen and Bao have put together a 20-8 record - winning one tournament and going deep in every other tournament they’ve played in.   Next Monday begins the district tournament, and, although there are hopes at advancing to regionals, there is a chance that this will be the last time the two team together representing the fighting yellowjackets of Denison High. Shen and Bao are an unlikely pair.   They are both adopted and they are not biological brothers, but over the years those realities have faded from our consciousness as they are no less than our sons and true brothers.   Their journey to the tennis court has been nothing sh...

Two reasons why I don't like April Fool's Day: One, I'm not a good liar (which I suppose is good since I'm a minister) so it's difficult for me to pull pranks , and two, I don’t like being made a fool.   That can be a good thing too since the Bible doesn’t speak very highly of fools. The book of Proverbs uses the word fool more than any other in the Bible which makes sense since its purpose is to make us wise, the opposite of being a fool.   A fool is useless, lazy, always dependent on others, mistake prone, and gets in a lot of messy accidents.   It's not a good thing to be a fool, but how does one actually become one? There are many paths to foolishness but one sure way is mentioned in Proverbs 14:16 , "Fools are headstrong and reckless."   Fools don’t listen to others and they have no restraints. In college, a friend and I had an internship at a church about an hour away from school.   One Sunday morning we jumped in his car to be...

A few years back I tore my achilles tendon playing church softball. I've heard it said that church athletics are the most dangerous activity known to man:   washed-up athletes trying to relive their glory, and often times imagined glory at that. It sometimes doesn’t end well and it didn't for me that warm summer Friday night as I chased down a ball from my position at second base.   I heard the snap, fell to my face, and limped my way through the rest of the game.   That's right, I finished the game.   It's one of the proudest moments of my life.   I guess I was in denial because it took me several weeks to eventually go to the doctor when the MRI determined I indeed had a tear.   Surgery was scheduled. The surgery went well but that was just the beginning of the healing process. The initial cast would have to be replaced every couple of weeks and my ankle repositioned to stretch out the repaired tendon.   I'll never forget that first follow-up a...

I recently watched a video of an experiment administered to young children to test their ability to postpone gratification (watch the video below).   The child was seated at a table and set before them was a single   marshmallow.   They were given the option to eat the one marshmallow immediately or wait a while and be given an additional marshmallow.   It was entertaining watching them.   Some of the children immediately   gobbled the one marshmallow, others tantalizingly smelled the marshmallow, others would take little nibbles, many waited.   The experiment illustrates the choices each of us make to have it now or have more later. Every day we face similar choices and we ask ourselves the questions, "Do I act on impulse or do I exhibit self control?"   "Do I indulge in the moment or do I delay some pleasure now so that I can enjoy a greater pleasure later?" This matter has implications in all areas of our life, but certainly there i...

There are some people that are just outright unlikable.   You probably know a few.   I know that I do.   They have done things, said things, and approved of things that leave no doubt in your mind that they are not to be trusted, befriended, or respected.   You have first-hand knowledge of their despicable behavior. You may have even given them a chance to redeem themselves, but they consistently exhibit unlikable behavior.   Sad but true, there are some people like that. Then there are other people that you may not like but you really don’t have any hard evidence against them.   Maybe they just strike you the wrong way.   Maybe you've heard some rumors or gossip about them and have made a judgment based on hearsay.   Maybe you don’t know them well but you've heard enough about them to categorize them in your unlikable file. I've felt that way about some people and, to my own discredit, in some cases I have never really taken the time ...

Have you ever shown up at someone’s front door for a party and as soon as you’re greeted by the host you realize you weren’t invited? The tongue-tied greeting gives it away, and soon all doubt is removed when the host hollers back to the kitchen to see if there’s enough food for another guest.  Awkward!  Or how about you show up at the restaurant where you’ve overheard a group of co-workers conspire to have lunch and when you walk up to the table you see there are no empty seats.  A well-intentioned invitee asks the table next to them if that extra chair is available and they squeeze you in between two other people whom you can’t believe were included over you.  Embarrassing! It’s painful not to be invited.  And even if you've never suffered the embarrassment of showing up uninvited it’s agonizing to be asked by a friend why you weren’t at the lunch, the party, the wedding, the celebration and your only honest yet heartrending response is, “I ...

I'm told that smells have the power to evoke powerful memories and one of those smells in   my life is fresh brewed coffee.   Every morning of my high school days started with my dad drinking his morning cup of coffee and, although I don’t drink it, the smell always reminds me of those mornings. My dad had one of the oldest drip coffee makers known to mankind. In fact, it may have been the original.   As I remember it, the coffee grounds would be placed in an upper chamber and boiling water would be poured in and slowly the water would seep through the grounds and collect in the lower chamber as coffee.   It may have taken a while for the process, but for him it was well worth the wait. I often wonder how my dad would take to these modern cup-at-a-time-in-a-minute coffee   makers we have today. He would likely say something like,   "Son, it takes time to make a good cup of coffee.     Trying to make a cup of coffee in a minute just ...