CoffeeTime

Quote; “I have been accused of being too hard on my sons. I totally disagree. Undisciplined boys become undisciplined men. Undisciplined men are found in prisons, hospitals and graveyards.” – Steve Harvey; comedian, author, actor, and television host.   You’ve been around them, we all have. The parent who gazes adoringly at their little boy…

Sick and tired of trying to teach little Johnny how to be potty trained, instead of leaving a tell-tale path of stain everywhere he goes? Exhausted from the constant battle to teach your two little warrior-siblings to learn to love each other and not try to kill each other every day? Ready to just toss…

That would definitely be wonderful, wouldn’t it? To have total amnesia regarding the awful things you have said or done in your past. To not remember the hurt you have caused, and the shame you have brought on yourself.   If everyone had that rare ability to be totally honest about their life, you would…

You think that bold firefighters hold no fear in their bones when they rush into a red-hot cauldron of fire that was once a high-rise building? That police officers have no fear inside as they run toward an active crime scene? That parents don’t spend some sleep-deprived nights, dreading the marching onslaught of the notorious…

If the adult version of you originated in a home that consisted of one child, that shaped you. You very likely grew up having no real concept of ‘sharing-because-you-have-to.’ Two in one bedroom, and having to learn to accept your different preferences? Probably inconceivable. And God forbid ever sharing one bed with a sibling who…

I can vividly imagine the reactions of most who just read that title.   “Are you nuts, Renie B?! Of course, being rich would be better for me than having to drive this old rattletrap of a car, that breaks down every time a wind any stronger than a baby’s breath blows through. I’ll have…

The angry and resentful young man sat sullenly on the edge of his narrow cot in the cell.  He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, body motionless but with his brain racing in high gear. Ben’s pulse rate and stress level had shot through the roof when he heard the cell…

Having integrity. “Doing what you should do, even when no one is watching, and will never know if you did it or not.” It’s not something that is inexpensive and easily obtained for yourself – like a bottle of water. Indeed it is just the opposite, you have to concentrate and work hard at it.…

Many things like our car washes, ATMs, and grocery stores now boast that they have contactless accessibility. “NO TOUCHING, KEEP TO YOUR YOURSELF SO YOU WON’T RISK BEING CONTAMINATED OR INVOLVED.” And that concept works for keeping yourself germ-free in this scary disease-ridden world.   But not so effective in rearing kids. We are now…

You can be absolutely right, have all your logical little ducks lined up perfectly in a row, with all your detailed facts ready at your fingertips to zap your opponent to smithereens… and be dead right. Because insisting on always being right can be a killer.   Sure, anybody with a spine that isn’t made…

Let me give my personal baseline right here at the beginning, and then jump headlong from that starting point. God is the giver of life. He has a plan for every life He creates. And He says it is a good plan.   Although, God says life is worth living, it is absolutely true that…

Most people with a beating heart want to be loved. Oh yes, I am certain that psychiatrists would be quick to point out there is a certain tiny percentage of humans who feel no love and have no need to be loved. But overwhelmingly, most of us crave the feeling of warm acceptance, or being…

Years ago, right after I began CoffeeTime Column, a friend suggested I write an article addressing ‘Dealing with your ex after the divorce.’   Now, I don’t know much, but I do know that a writer is foolish to attempt to write about an unfamiliar subject. And as I have never personally experienced the aftermath…

Way too often finding yourself lying awake instead of getting your beauty sleep? As many know firsthand, that is an extremely common problem for a lot of people. I won’t bother boring you with the national statistics of this plague, you won’t be interested or impressed. Because the only insomnia that truly bothers you is…

You are aging, every second you are alive, that is an inescapable fact. And right along with that joyous and party-mood-making pronouncement is another fact. Multiple years of aging most always brings on a certain amount of physical pain.   Ready to invite me to your next happy-go-lucky soiree yet? “Oh yeah, give that woman…

Two elderly sisters, one widowed and the other never married, were living together. They had decided the year before that because the oldest owned her house, the younger should leave a rented apartment and move into her sister’s second bedroom.   After the initial “Move over, I’m needing more drawer and closet space than this!”…

Where does a person go after death? We need to understand one thing from the beginning. When you draw your last halting shallow breath on this earth, from that point on, you are winging it on your own, with no one to run interference for you. Family ties mean nothing in eternity. The great-great-grandaddy who…

While watching our teen-aged son play four years of high school basketball games years ago, we both noticed an absolute truth; Our son could not seem to grasp that he wasn’t able to block every shot that was put up by the opposing team. He obviously believed that it was his God-given job to stop…

You are a caregiver. That very much over-stressed, over-worked and under-appreciated person who along with probably many others, holds the anonymous title of WORLD’S MOST PATIENT PERSON.   There are likely very few families among our population who have not experienced the sudden disruption, and even heartbreak, when a person among you goes down physically,…

Sarah and Travis were trying to make it to his mom’s house that night before the storm hit. They had driven nonstop from Denver, except for filling the gas tank, buying fast food, and bathroom breaks. And those three events had to be perfectly timed to happen together. God help the one who drank too…

Have you ever walked down the sidewalk, determined to be friendly and cheerful that particular day, and looked up to see someone coming toward you, but you couldn’t figure out whether to say “Good morning, sir” or Good morning, miss?” Bluntly put, you couldn’t tell if you were speaking to a male or a female.…

Oh, shoot. Why am I writing about this question? Do I have a hidden ‘Go ahead and kill me now, and get it over with’ complex in me somewhere? Here we go over hill and dale anyway, and consequences bedamned. THE QUESTION: How many “I really am sorry” will it take to get forgiveness for…

Years ago, a young couple left their almost-two-year-old son with his favorite baby sitter, Miss Elva. A few days later, she laughingly told them that he had come to her that evening, dragging his diaper bag behind him. Paul was a unique little boy who disliked speaking. He simply refused to talk unless he was…

Do. Not. Give. Up.  Giving up creates hopelessness. And hopelessness creates a huge black hole of depression and deadness in you. When you quit caring about anything in life, you stop living, even though your heart continues beating. Living in hopelessness means having to keep walking a step at a time when you don’t have…