Steven Curtis Chapman is the most prolific singer/songwriter in the history of contemporary Christian music. He has won five Grammys, 58 Dove Awards, and has sold more than 10 million albums. In May 2008, Chapman lost his daughter, Maria Sue, in a tragic accident in the driveway of their home. She was five years old. […]

Wendy did the math for me one night. I had asked her “how much would my life expand if I stretched each day by one hour?” The formula in my head included how long I’ll live if I have it my way, including staying healthy and active. She grabbed her phone, opened the calculator and […]

Inspiration can come from unexpected places, people or events. If you can turn the inspiration into action, you’ll often find pathways to help others win. I was having coffee with my dear friend Susan when I recounted meeting Hall of Fame Detroit Lion and childhood hero Lem Barney 15 years ago. As I was telling […]

Expectations of me were high when I was growing up. I’d overhear my parents talking about how well I’d do in school, sports, drivers training. Some of the talks included “it’ll be easy for him.” I remember having an odd combination of confidence and anxiety. Like I do today. On the playground, I had always […]

What are you doing this for? Who are you doing this for? Why are you doing this? I tried going through the day intentionally questioning myself about everything I did. Is it for me? Is it for Wendy? Is it for God? Is it for others? When we have someone else first in mind we […]

While dad was not the best communicator, he did want to connect. It was difficult for him though. When I was 12 I found a slide carousel that belonged to my older brother. Yeah, one of those things. It had some slides of inadequately clothed, and some half-clothed, women. A couple of buddies and I […]

The “out-of-context conversation” is one of my favorite topics. Need to tell a co-worker about something that’s slowing the team down? Want to tell your boss about some extraordinary things the team is doing? You have a family member who is impacting the rest of the house with poor behavior? Try speaking out-of-context for a […]

“The Line” was the most miserable place in the whole Ore-Ida Foods factory. While 530 workers operated machines that cut potatoes into french fries, drove lift trucks to move product, repaired broken pallets, and loaded semi-trailers, “The Line” is where three people stood for eight hours picking up and setting down boxes. That job was […]

Christmas Day, 1970. My parents gave me my first watch. It was a Timex wristwatch and other than my baseball mitt, it was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. It was life-changing. It had a wide, leather band. I put it on and held my wrist to my ear: tick…tick…tick…ooooh! I used it […]