Here's a great guest post from a blogging buddy of mine Jared Latigo. Jared is a writer, speaker and passion guy. His vision in life is to have more people love their work than ones that hate it. Be sure to check out his blog at JaredLatigo.com or follow him on Twitter @JaredLatigo. Here's his post: ---------------------------------------------- I'm on a mission in this life to figure out exactly where I "fit." Maybe you are too? Good. We'll get along just fine then. But often … [Read more...]
December 11, 2012 By 11 Comments
Top-10 List: Holiday Christmas Specials
I'm amazed at all of the holiday specials that are playing and replaying this time of year. Growing up during the 1970s with only three TV networks, holiday specials were truly "special." My fondest memories of those days were the "Animagic" Christmas specials produced by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass. You know the stop-motion classics about Rudolph, Heat Miser, the Winter Warlock...etc. Now, ABC Family Channel's 25 Days of Christmas is running those specials wall-to-wall, decked … [Read more...]
December 10, 2012 By 9 Comments
An Unexpected e-Mail of Encouragement
A few weeks ago I wrote here about some of the health issues I've been dealing with lately. As a general update, every week I'm feeling better and getting healthier. I plan to provide more specific results after the New Year. Since my first post on these health issues, I've received many well wishes of encouragement. Below is an e-mail that stood out because it came from a blogger buddy of mine who's living in Paraguay with his family. His name is Ken Hagerman. He's a missionary and … [Read more...]
December 6, 2012 By 19 Comments
Open Letter to the Makers of Elf on the Shelf
To Whom It May Concern: Thank you for creating the Elf on the Shelf franchise of books, cookies, plush dolls, DVDs...etc. which enable parents such as my wife and me the privilege of paying $29.95 to deceive our children. The Story of the Elf As you well know, your fabricated story of the Elf asserts that he/she appears in the child's home between Thanksgiving and Christmas as a behavioral scout for Saint Nick, to keep an eagle eye on the children for the "naughty and nice" list. The … [Read more...]
December 3, 2012 By 12 Comments
We Need More Than Ourselves
I spent most of my Sundays growing up as a kid being dragged to some kind of charismatic church; tent meeting or guest-preacher service. Mostly I was bored. Often I would sleep under the seats. Sometimes I’d smuggle in Matchbox cars and drive them along the curvey armrests of the pews. And other times I would hear. Kids Hear Things Even as a child, I remember hearing the beautiful music that was elevated by all the voices singing together. In particular, there was a little old … [Read more...]
November 30, 2012 By 1 Comment
God Is Not a Plumber – Talking to Kids About Death
The topic of death and grieving have been covered several times on this blog, because those are realities that all of us will face during this life. I'm thrilled to share with you this guest post from a writing friend of mine, Michelle Johnson. As a blogger Michelle has a keen interest and ability in addressing grief, bringing her to write for and work with Adelaide funeral homes and various publications dealing with death, funerals and the grieving process. Here's her guest … [Read more...]
November 29, 2012 By 5 Comments
Helping Kids Understand Money
I typically write about issues that families face on a daily basis. One area that I haven't touched on in a while is kids and money. "Below is a guest post from Joy Mali who writes about financial management tips – specifically, she advocates that college-age students and young adults check credit report and credit scores regularly before applying for student loans." ====================== Every parent wants their child to become financially responsible by the time they become … [Read more...]
November 27, 2012 By 5 Comments
Women Speak More Goodly Than Guys
The headline of this blog post shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, in fact the best communicators I’ve known in my professional and personal live have all been the fairer sex – just ask my wife. In fact, the past 14 or so years that I’ve been in corporate communications all of my bosses have been women - and they've typically been some of the best communicators within the various organizations. That fact comes to bear in two studies I recently read. The first was … [Read more...]
November 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
Avoiding Cyber-Monday Scams
I don't know about you, but I'm an unrepentant self-admitted Cyber-Monday shopper. I simply prefer the convenience of shopping online for the holidays compared to the crowds and hassles associated with Black Friday which I try to avoid like the Black Plague. However, online shopping does have its own pitfalls - identity theft, computer hacking and compromised debit cards are just a few. Here's a useful infographic from the folks at Veracode that offers some insight into how consumers … [Read more...]
November 22, 2012 By 3 Comments
A Classic Thanksgiving Prayer…
Sharing this has become a bit of a holiday tradition on The Daily ReTORt. One of the great cartoon theologians of our time shares some poignant thoughts on this Thanksgiving.... Happy Thanksgiving!!! … [Read more...]
