100 Words: What If?

What if I just started writing? How would it end up?

What if it hurt every time we had a bad thought?

What if my family really knew how much I love them?

What if people could see themselves as I see them?

What if it didn't cost anything to be happy?

What if the stars blinked out, and the sun went cold?

What if each new day really was a new chance to start again?

What if one smile could change the course of history?

What if 100 words was enough to say everything that you needed to say?

100 Words: The Sky

Six days into this, and I'm already stumped, so I turned where else? To Jordan and her teenage friends. Tonight's post is brought to you by Annie Price.

(Those first twenty-eight words don't count)

(Neither do those six...)

There is nothing like the sky. 

The sky inspires us. The sky is a fantastic illusion. In the light of day, the sky is a jewel, ever changing, from a blue sapphire at noon, to a pearl after the rainstorm, to a fiery western ruby, at sunset.

Sometimes we paint the sky. 

Sometimes God paints the sky. 

At night, the sky opens up, and we send our wishes to the stars, and we look up, into the face of time.

The sky is where we dream. We dream of flight. We dream of other worlds. 

 We look up, always up.

100 Words: No Asterisks

How does one live a life with no asterisk?

As we write the story of our lives, a footnote is a continuation of that story... 

...an asterisk is not a footnote. 

An asterisk is a but...

An asterisk is an excuse...

An asterisk is an exception...

An asterisk says you cheated. 

It says whatever you did, you didn't do it right.

So, how do you live with no asterisks?

You own your life. 

If it's right, do it. 

If it's not right, don't do it.

Dare to dream. 

Jump high enough.

Serve all. 

Lift the load.

Smile always.

No asterisks. 

100 Words that Changed the World in 1776

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

...Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes...

...But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object...to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government...

...for the support of this Declaration...we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

100 Words for Emma (on her birthday)

Ten years ago, my life got brighter.

July 3, 2003 was the day God picked a star from the heavens, and sent it to me.

Emma really is a star:

She's brilliant.

She's immovable.

Sometimes, she's a nuclear explosion.

Emma is smarter than me.

She's smarter than you too.

Emma knows why the sky is blue, and the difference between a crocodile and an alligator. She can fold origami frogs, and tell you why onions make you cry.

Emma still calls me daddy, and, when she whispers "I love you", the brightness of her little star makes my eyes water.

100 Words: Failure is an Option

Failure is an option.

In fact, it's a certainty.

It's also essential.

By failing, we come to know, what we do not know. The question is, how will you respond to your failures?

My son just finished two soccer tournaments, with a great team. 

They lost every game.

But no one had more fun. No one. 

They played hard and lost. 

They applauded the winners. 

They smiled the whole time. Real smiles.

They retired with grace, and character.

Their failure became their greatest victory. 

I can't get the last game out of my head, there's a lesson in there somewhere...

100 Words (isn't very many words)

31 posts in the month of July, one hundred words each. 

100 words to tell you about the stars in Emma's eyes. 

100 words to tell you what's right with the world.

100 words to explain beauty.

100 words to say what needs to be said.

100 words to teach my son the difference between a guy and a man.

100 words to solve the world's problems.

100 words to tell Jordan that her soul is my soul. 

100 words to celebrate my wonderful life.

100 words to find clarity in the fog. 

100 words to bring you back tomorrow.