Living with Bears and Other Adulting Tips

I learned to read from an early age. Words were my friends. Words did not leave the page. Words stayed. People did not. The military made…

Sausage in Equal Parts

As I prepared dinner yesterday, I watched the live floor debate of SB441 of the 57th Oklahoma Legislature. The crux of this bill is to create…

Stack ’em Deep & Wide

Bunk beds are utilitarian. Stack ‘em deep and wide! Thankfully, I showed up a day early to the dorms and claimed the widest and the shortest…

Merry F%$!ing Mundane

So desperate to leave a legacy, few have the patience for the mundane moments that create legacy. These mundane moments are bound together to create a…

Ecclesiastical Duties

Questions are always better than answers. Questions create movement. Questions allow for cross-reference. Questions generate thought. Questions are dynamic. Answers do not. Answers are final. Answers…

Fish On

Rapala produces a fishing lure that guarantees “fish on”. The lure looks like a crayfish and comes in many different colors and sizes. I am not…

Balance Restored?

In 1982, I saw the Dark Crystal. It scared the hell out me. Never before had I seen puppets and animatronics move in such a disturbing…

FA = −FB

FA = −FB. A good friend often recites to his classes his memory of having tea for the first time in a traditional Japanese tea house…

Buster Brown

My Buster Browns did not get much wear when I was a child . We did not go to church. We did not go to functions.…

I Need You to Tell Me Who I Am

On a train headed to work with Bon Jovi next to me to remind me to live life on a prayer…or Prince to remind me of…

About Us

I was given a pink slip after ten years at an institution whose mantra is “We are home”…OUCH! Through this process, I have learned some valuable adult lessons. Some I have learned the hard way, but it has always been this way! Anyway, the hard lessons stick better…and easier to write about!

My name is Lj. Living nearly eight years in Japan, and ten in Oklahoma, Kari and I have been able to piece together a culture of meaning for our family. We borrowed a little from here, little from there, and whole lot from above! Our experiences have taught us much, but we know better than to live in the past. We have expected little and have received much. We know where we have been, where we are, and where we want to be. As a family, we bring meaning to our lives as parents, kids, teachers, and children of God. We live a day at a time, enjoy the moment and make plans to join God where He is. In doing so, we keep expectations to a minimum and enjoy the ride.