CoffeeTime Articles
An Adult’s Tipping Point
Four-year-old Jimmy stood motionless beneath the large bucket balanced above him. A bucket that held a lot of cold water already, with water being added constantly from the never-ending stream feeding it. Shivering in anticipation, Jimmy watched as the water level...
Just What Exactly is a “Normal” Life?
The longer I live, talking and being with people, the more I realize that there is no one-way-only-lifestyle that is completely normal. For instance, my present lifestyle seems absolutely normal to me. But President Trump probably feels the same way about his...
Throw it Behind You
Lost terribly at the family game of cards? Tear up that score card and put it out of your mind. A silly little board game is not worth thinking about and ruining your day. But you know that. Or you should. Your fiancé lets you know that after thinking about your...
Sinking Ship Marriages
If you are in one, it’s a scary thing. With a lot of anger, defeatism, anxiety, and damaged pride as shipmates. But, maybe you still feel that you would rather patch the holes that are rapidly taking on water, rather than just bailing out. Maybe you feel the kids...
“Durn Thang Won’t Cooperate!”
The office was in its usual Monday morning subdued chaos, nothing new about the muffled exclamations, one-on-one conversations, and general hubbub. But still, there was a decidedly different element in the air. The reason? The...
The Orb of Me
You have natural abilities and inclinations. You love doing certain things. That's normal and good. But what you love in life was never intended to be all that is important in your world. Family, friends, co-workers, church family, strangers, and even supervisors,...
Ignore It and It’ll Go Away
If we are talking about your teeth, yep, that’s true. Just totally ignore them, and you have a pretty quick way to rid yourself of a tiresome repetitive responsibility. “She don’t care about us, and always wishin’ that we weren’t so needy all the time? Oh, yeah, we’re...
Don’t Just Blindly Raise Your Kids
We humans have personality traits, that is readily apparent. And because we all have our own individual and highly weird traits, each of us also have singularly different desires. Desires for things in our life that are driven by our God-given quirks. The athlete,...
Parents, Don’t Just Yell at Them
Have you ever noticed that those rigid rules you insist your kids obey rarely bring about long-term enthusiastic obedience? “Mom told us to not do that. Yay!!!” Instead, rebellion later on is usually the result. When your back is turned. When your kid is turned loose...
Just Walk Away From Cranky
Your spouse feeling extremely ill and hurting, with no rapid relief anywhere in sight? Don't expect him to act differently than exactly what he is feeling. Physical illness shows itself very plainly in our behavior – take a quick look at a hurting and fussy little...
I’ll Eat What I Want!
Ten-year-old Billy and his dad were going to eat at Billy’s favorite buffet-style restaurant. It was the boy’s birthday, and Dad had indulgently told him that he could have anything he wanted, as much as he wanted. Big mistake. Billy grabbed a plate and headed...
Hellion In Rebellion
Parenting kids…tough stuff. And just think of doing that same job from God’s point of view. He’s responsible for the same…guiding you and me to become good adults. Not a job that you would hear me volunteering to do in a trillion light years. Just imagine. God:...
Who Should Use AI?
If I was still a teen in high school, I would love AI. I could have my writing assignments for English done in a flash and be out the door. And have a lot better grades to show my parents than I did years ago. And later on, with those gnarly issues at work...
The Horse Named Grace
Old and slow-moving, nevertheless, Grace faithfully carried her blind rider on the snow-covered, lonely, and seemingly endless journey. There was no real visibility, due to the heavy clouds that hid the moon and stars. But even if the moon had been as bright as the...
Favoring Your Favorite Sets Them Up Badly
It happens. Finding someone whose personality draws you in and you really enjoy. It happens because there is such a thing as a natural connection between people. You sense that they ‘get you.’ You understand and appreciate their way of approaching life. Their...