Posts by Ken Jones

His name was Hermon Miller, and he owned the grocery store on the street where I grew up. When it was hot and muggy on many summer afternoons, my mom would ask me to “Go down to Millers Store and get some pork chops for supper,” or perhaps, “Go down to Millers and get some bread for sandwiches, so I can make your lunch. Better get a pound of bologna, too.” I’d hop on my bike and ride down to the end of our street to get what my mom had said I should buy.

I have a friend, Rich, whose quiet, reflective, manner makes him a wonderful person to talk to. When I’m around him, the impression I get is that he actually thinks before he speaks—a rare thing in humans—and then, when he does speak, his words are distilled, salient and worth listening to. I like to hear him talk. He challenges me to grow. Several months ago, I asked him when we could get together for lunch.

I have discovered one of the great joys in life, I think: the joy of watching my grandkids grow up. My wife and I have six, four girls and two boys. Seems like I never get tired of hearing about their latest accomplishments or adventures. And this week, as one of them started high school, I remembered a scene I hadn’t thought of in a long time.

How’s it going? How did you “do” today at navigating the, no doubt, dozens of things you had to do? Those generic, innocent questions we use in everyday life as we interact with others rarely invite deeper reflection in those we might be asking. “Fine,” is probably the most common response we get when we ask someone else how they’re doing.

One of the most frequently asked questions from people considering coaching is about the “process,” or about what it looks like to work with a coach. Because thousands of individuals have decided they are coaches because they have a particular expertise or experience in a specific area (i.e. sports coaches, writing coaches, even life coaches), it can be difficult to know how to choose a coach or even whether coaching is the right choice.

Because October is Down Syndrome Month …

A Word About Blessed Events

Everyone knows that phrase: A Blessed Event.

         A blessed event is what happens when a baby is born.

        A blessed event occurs when that familiar sound splits the air,

                And a neonate cries for the very first time,

And an heir is born who can help carry on the family name and lineage.

“Control” is a word we use all the time, have you noticed? In science, every researcher insists on the careful documentation of experiments and the importance of control groups for accuracy in successful drug development. Television studios all have some control room, where people sit staring at monitors to determine which camera angle best captures the story that is unfolding. Every large airport in the world has a control tower, rising several stories above the surrounding runways. Men and women sit in those high control towers looking out on the horizon, while simultaneously watching monitors that display the exact location of airplanes wanting to land or waiting for permission to take off. The pilots are certainly flying the planes, but the controllers are in…control.

Communicating through protective masks is something our culture is trying to get used to. Healthcare professionals, of course, have learned to talk through masks as a part of their everyday lives. But sometimes, the challenge isn’t about just being heard. It’s about measuring the weight and value of the words to begin with.

I recently spent time with a dying man, a wonderful Christian man who was wrestling with end-of-life issues. As a pastor for a long time, I will tell you, this is not the first conversation I’d ever had with an individual facing a terminal illness who seemed perplexed by decisions he never had to think about before.