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This week, our oldest child Maggie turns 18. She and I traveled together this past week visiting potential colleges. Next year she will be out of the house and enrolled in college. I can't help but pause and reflect. Way back in 1999, my husband Jimmy and I were thrilled to welcome her. I had previously suffered a miscarriage, along with all the heartbreak, tears and uncertainty that went with it. It took weekly blood tests to ensure that my progesterone was in the right range, but it worked. My labor began in the middle of the night. Having heard...

One afternoon in early August, I got off a plane in Gulfport, Mississippi with my friend J. Warner “Jim” Wallace. We were scheduled to speak at a church up in Hattiesburg with our other friend Frank Turek. We had about three hours to make the one-hour drive so we had plenty of time – even though our flight had landed thirty minutes late. As we headed up U.S. 49 to Hattiesburg we passed a number of small towns in South Mississippi where many of my relatives were born and raised. My parents met in Gulfport back in 1952 and most...

Editor's note: This piece was co-authored by the author's daughter, Kristin Carey. How many of us have boxes or hard drives filled with pictures and home videos—those precious moments we captured on film because we wanted to always remember; yet we’ve rarely, if ever, looked back?How many of us have kept journals in which we’ve written prayers about our hopes and fears, but have never returned to see which were answered?You’ve left behind a paper trail of some sort as you’ve gone through life. And if you’re like most Americans, you’re probably actively collecting, adding bits and pieces as you...

Leaning on his cane, the old boy walked out his front door, took in the morning light, and was surprised. That's when the realization hit him: The weather's turned. It's cool. He felt it, but couldn't quite believe it, not at first. It had been a light summer this year, with plenty of rain and cooling breezes. It hadn't been unbearable, like some he had known. But still it had been summer in these latitudes: hot. And now... Fall had taken him by surprise. It shouldn't have. It happens every year. And every year it still surprises him. The suddenness...

While new and novel might be exciting, routine and habit can help create a structure and framework for success. From eating breakfast, brushing our teeth or exercising every day, much of our lives are driven by routine. This reliance on routine behavior can startle us when we are driving and find ourselves not at our planned destination, but at our routine destination. In my case, the power of routine was driven home last May, after my family moved. For weeks afterward, I would find myself driving to our old house rather than to our new home. Routine's influence goes beyond...

My youngest is getting married in less than two months. Although we are deep in the midst of wedding plans and to-do lists, she still manages to spend a good chunk of time every day dreaming about her first home with her soon-to-be hubby. How will they decorate? How will they use their budget? How will they entertain guests? She is incredibly enthusiastic about it, too. You would think the endless list of things to think about would be exhausting, but instead, the wealth of possibilities gives her loads of energy. I think there is something important to learn from...

Sometimes life hits you like a roundhouse kick, reminding you about what really matters. That happened to me this past week with the life, bravery and fighting spirit of 35-year-old Jen Bulik. I was just about to continue my series on Thomas Jefferson and public education, when I read Jen's story. (I'll pick up that series again in two weeks, after I highlight another amazing story of sacrifice and leadership.) Last December, Jen went to her doctor with a cough, and the young hairdresser was diagnosed with pneumonia. When the cough persisted, doctors ran more tests and discovered that Jen...

My cat, Cathy, has become one of the most powerful spiritual teachers I have ever known. This article will briefly detail her history, the events that lead to her death, the conclusion of her life, and -- in detail -- what she taught me. She was a little tiny kitten when I got her. She was weaned too early, and like many cats who are weaned too young, became extraordinarily attached to me. She grew rapidly, becoming a flush of pure black fur, a flower of a cat who bloomed pure beauty. She loved my company above all else, following...

  A new weekly feature from Lloyd Marcus... Lloyd's Life Lessons: Getting What You Give According to news reports, Black Friday shoppers were rude, crude and out-of-control. People were assaulting each other with fists, pepper spray and one incident even involved a gun. It sounded pretty threatening and crazy out there in Shopper's Land. Brave soul that I am, I found the courage to venture out Black Friday to hunt down the stuff on my list. While shopping, I cut off a gentleman who was pushing his cart to the checkout. Realizing my rudeness, I bid the gentleman to go...

You've probably heard the news about the upcoming remake, but there is still so much in the original Predator that has gone unappreciated. Below is a list of the life lessons we could learn from Dutch and his crew as they try to take on the Predator himself.

Hollywood goes with what works and, let's face it, there are a few things audiences like to see again and again in their movies. The underdog wins big, the loser gets his dream girl, Batman is awesome, etc. But there are some themes that are either so wrong, stupid or harmful that they need to be retired once and for all. Such as ...

So...what HAVE you learned in the last 25 years?