I love to talk to people. I believe everyone has a story to tell. I love hearing others tell it. But how do you get them to start? sometimes it depends on where you are.

Where you are having a conversation has a bearing on what kind of conversation you have. Are you standing in line at the post office? Are you standing at the copier at work? Or, are you in the dining hall at your church greeting a new guest? Where you are gives you an entry into conversation.

If I am standing in a line that doesn’t want to end, I am actively trying to engage in small talk with the people around me. People love to tell their own story. Even if they think it is a small story, the still love for someone to listen. So, I start out with a general comment. Nothing invasive. A comment about the weather. Or the service. Whatever seems appropriate for who you are addressing.

When someone starts commenting on what I have said I make another comment. When they talk more, I ask a question. It is amazing how much you can find out about someone just by asking simple questions. Some people will tell you far more than you wanted to know, but that is a different story.

It can all start with where you are. You have both showed up in the same place at the same time. Gives you a small thread in common. You can build off of that commonality and have a great conversation.

We will he enjoying the holiday in quarantine. That doesn’t stop us from having it and celebrating the reason for it all. He is risen!

One of the benefits of the stay at home time we are currently having is…being at home. I haven’t been inside these walls this much since I was going through chemotherapy. It is so much better now. I am working. I am well. Yet, I still need the rest.

I have an amazing job. It is demanding. It is consuming. Project work is often like that. I love what I do. It gives me energy. After a while though it is nice to step away. For the past four weeks I have been working from home. If it is possible, I think I have been working harder here than when I was at the office. Stepping away has been harder.

Enter the weekend. A three day weekend at that. I am purposely trying to rest this weekend. We will see how it goes. I hope you get some too.

Start to your Easter weekend!

There have been a lot of storms lately. They have been here on and off for a few few weeks it seems. I saw more lightning in the sky the other evening than I have seen in a long time. It looked like God was putting on a firework show. It rained and rained and the wind blew, but we were no worse for the storm. Not all storms are like this where we live in Texas. When we lived in Oklahoma it was a different story. With many Oklahoma storms come tornadoes and severe damage.

I remember the big tornado that hit south of Oklahoma City in May of 1999. It was categorized as a F5, which is only one step below the worst classification. The winds in a F5 blow 261 – 318 miles per hour. It was nearly a mile wide. It devastated much in south Oklahoma City and surrounding communities. I was saddened by the loss of life that happened that day and grateful that none of the ones I loved were in the path of the storm. They almost were, but not quite.

Marixa and I had been married for four months at the time. My mom and dad were coming up to the city to see us from southeast Oklahoma. I remember they called me and asked if  they needed to pick up dinner, or if we were going to eat when they arrived. Marixa and I had just finished, so they decided to stop for a bite to eat. Turns out that was a very good thing. When they got to the city my dad told me they were about five minutes south of the tornado when it hit. They might have been in the middle of all of it had they come north a little quicker. I am glad they stopped to eat.

I knew others who barely missed having their homes destroyed. Some who were not as fortunate. The wind blew harder that day than it has on any day since in Oklahoma. I am amazed at the strength and resolve of my friends and neighbors. They took an awful shot from the weather, but did not fold. The city drew together. People helped each other. The community healed. You drive through the affected areas and you might never know what had occurred there 12 years previous.

What do you do when the wind blows? There are times in life where we are tossed and thrown and don’t know if we will ever see safety again. Do you go the storm alone? Or do you pull together and weather it? In many cases the aftermath of the storm is devestating, but you can weather it. It may take time, but things can and will get better.