Musings

By Kirk McCarley Billy Donovan has enjoyed a remarkable record of success as a basketball coach.  As the head coach at the University of Florida for 19 years he led the Gators to consecutive NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007.  Donovan left Gainesville at the end of the 2015 season...

By Sean Dietrich “I started choking,” said Jennifer Yakubesan. It was a typical evening, some years ago. The family was eating supper before church, somewhere in the wilds of Michigan. It was spaghetti. The flagship food of happy families. “I looked at my husband and my son, and I started to make...

By Victoria Ostrosky For a multitude of Americans, life seems plagued with stress and uncertainty.  Anxiety cripples not only adults, but children and teens in an increasing number.  While some adults have learned, to an extent, to deal with and overcome anxiety and fear, young children don’t as yet possess...

By Kirk McCarley Folks are attracted to Florida for a variety of reasons.  Beaches, amusement parks, a positive business and living environment, and favorable year-round weather head the list. Though our weather is for the most part tropical in nature, those of us in the northern tier of the state occasionally...

By Rev. Pete Hyde The small tent was set up in the backyard next to the pasture that bordered the northeast Kansas base housing subdivision.  Two junior high boys were going to “sleep out” on a warm, breezy summer night.  Meadowlarks quieted their familiar songs as the sun went down. ...

We were newlyweds, living in a grungy apartment. Each morning, I would wake before her. I would pass my morning hours writing poetry on a yellow legal pad, sipping coffee. Mostly, I’d write the kinds of god-awful things you’d expect newlyweds to write. I’m talking painfully corny stuff. I’d leave these...

By Victoria Ostrosky Walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day, God called out – “Adam, where are you?”  Enoch’s legacy is that he walked with God every day.  Then there’s Moses of whom it is said that God talked with him face to face as...

By Rev. Pete Hyde The Oklahoma winter morning broke grey, cold, windy and dreary.  The Monday crowd at the hotel was small as we gathered for breakfast.  Afternoon flights for the trip home were already being delayed and connections were going to be missed.  An hour on the phone with...

By Kirk McCarley The day before our scheduled coaching meeting I took time to review notes from when we last gathered to outline questions and topics we may want to cover.  As is practice, a text message was also sent reminding the client of the meeting time the next day. At...

Reviewed By Michael McManus, LCSW Reading “Secure Love" by Julie Menanno is like having a heart-to-heart chat with your best friend about what makes relationships tick. One of the main things I love about this book is that it gives specific examples and strategies of how to interrupt toxic communication...