The first few blogs on this page were written in 2010-2012. They will give you the back story.
A Broken System of Marriage
Many know our story. Either face-to-face, in group settings or in several news articles, we have had the opportunity to share the story of Against the Grain with literally thousands of people; the success in business, the Sabbatical, how God showed us the lies of the American Dream and called us to provide hope and healing to families who are struggling to overcome abuse, addiction and negative generational cycles. But there is another story. It is much more intimate and has not been made so public. A few have heard it, but most have not. We have always believed this story would be told at some time but have not felt open to sharing up until now. Read the whole story
Our Story Part II
Thinking ahead through this week’s post there are a couple of housekeeping points that I realized should be made. First, I have named the other couple Joe and Helen (Joe is very generic and I don’t think I have any friends named Helen) and second, I am not going to get into a lot of gory details but will focus on the symptoms. Some specifics will be made for clarity and understanding, but the gory details were just a result of where our marriage was and were not the problem. That is a very important realization that Meredith and I have come to over the last 13 years…the affair was not the problem. The affair was a symptom or end result of the real problem Read the whole story
Words Mean Things – Our Story Part III
In 2005 Eric Swartz, known as the tagline guru, had 100 leading advertising, marketing, and branding professionals rank over 300 tagline nominations. The goal was to find the top 10 taglines since 1948 (since the advent of TV). The winners were:
- Got milk? (1993) California Milk Processor Board
- Don’t leave home without it. (1975) American Express
- Just do it. (1988) Nike
- Where’s the beef? (1984) Wendy’s
- You’re in good hands with Allstate. (1956) Allstate Insurance Read the whole story
Every End is a New Beginning
I will apologize in advance for the length of this post. I have been working on it for several weeks and had planned on it being split into a couple more parts but Christmas was coming and life got in the way. As time slipped past I realized that I needed to finish the story and begin to focus on how things changed and how we rebuilt our family. So as Paul Harvey would say…now for the rest of the story.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
When I was a kid I heard that “the proof was in the pudding”. With a simple Google search I found out that this little proverb dates back as early as the 14th century and it has been shortened over time from its original phrase – “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. Either way, the message remains the same; true value is found when something is put to use or, an even easier way to say it is, results are what count. Well I can tell you that I needed to show some results…for Meredith and for me. Read the whole story
Reflections after Valentines Day
Many have commented and liked my Valentines Facebook status from last night – ”Just continued a 27 year old Valentines tradition. Meredith and I go to the store…pick out the cards…exchange them and put them back…Hey…we were broke when we met and couldn’t afford the cards…Now it’s just romantic and fun”. So far 29 people have “liked” that status and 15 comments have been made. Everyone seems to think it is cute and/or romantic with one response being “By far the best post ever!” but the 27 years have not always been fun and they have certainly not been easy. I often tell people that Meredith and I have been happily married for 18 years and we are celebrating 27 in May. Read the whole story
The Lost Wedding Ring
It was a beautiful Saturday; the kind of day that motorcycle riders hope for in late January – early February. It was still a little cold, but there was no way I was going to miss my chance to ride for the first time this winter. Every time the weather had gotten into the 50’s and 60’s I was busy at the pizzeria or we already had plans. I had to work that evening, but I had an hour or two before I had to go, so I climbed on my bike, stopped at the gas station and took a short ride into Franklin to grab some lunch before heading back to the house. Read more
Leave a comment