Shaking the hand of God

My closest cousin, Jeff, and his wife of two years, Crecia, recently welcomed their first child, Cassandra Darling Johnson, into the world.  It's a thrill for our large extended family not only to add another vibrant member to the mix, but…

Running? The starting is the hardest part.

That's me on the right, stumbling to the finish of my first race (a 4 miler) a couple of years ago.                       I'm getting…

Changing your voice in written communications

His speech?  Use his voice in the writing.In preparation for a creative writing presentation I have to make in Georgia next month,  I started thinking today about tone.  In my work as a communications professional, I'm asked to write in…

Top 11 things a Warrior Dash virgin should know

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You’ve seen the pictures on Facebook.  You’ve heard the stories from your buddies.  You may have even seen reports from local news stations. Enough is enough.  You’re ready to tackle the Warrior Dash. “Mud…

Make the quiet times happen

My writing cabin, Pall Mall, Tenn.This morning, Holly and I had the honor and privilege of listening to South African cattleman and evangelist Angus Buchan speak at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.  The main point of his sermon was that,…

"Serious people have few ideas." Ramp up the fun.

  Ask yourself this:  How many wildly creative companies have you either visited, read about, or learned about on a TV program that didn't mandate a fun atmosphere? The answer is easy:  None. What are the companies most known…

Food: The unending conversation

When you boil it all down, there are really only three things that matter in human life:  faith, reproduction, and food.When it comes to discussing these three things — the only three things that matter in human life, mind you — there are…

Find your carnival ride

Carnivals and amusement parks are some of the more interesting and enigmatic curiosities devised by the human brain. Why do we participate? Here's my guess.

It's different, but it's still America

Tennessee skies.Amazing that it's been 11 years.  When planes started hitting buildings that morning, I wasn't sure that the world would still be here in 11 years. Frankly, it all didn't seem real.  It was a movie, a Bruce Willis blockbuster.…

Art worth NOT losing.

Readying for the state fair.My first story of this deadline will be about country ham.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Country ham.4-H'ers in Rutherford County, Tenn., have a country ham project group.  My 11-year-old son, Sam, is a part…