I tend to write when I see connections. Call it the work of the spirit. As we begin the season of Advent we should focus on being prepared for the birth of Jesus. But how are we preparing? When will we feel that we have done enough preparation? In the last twenty-four hours, we have been told that Americans have spent 11.8 billion on Black Friday sales and 14.2 billion on on-online sales. Lane Kiffen, Coach of the Mississippi Football Team, whose team is going to the playoffs

The day after watching the movie, Nuremberg , the chronicle of the events leading up to and including the Nuremberg Trial of Nazi war crimes, I started reading Nobody’s Girl , a memoir of surviving abuse and fighting for justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. It is her autobiography of her sexual abuse from her early years through the time she is trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell. Both experiences document the cruelty of what human beings can do to one another. It is a cautiona

Photo by Vlada A few nights ago, I saw the movie, Nuremberg. It is a movie that depicts the events leading up to the trial of Nazi war criminals and what occurred at the trial itself. At the same time, I am reading an article sent to me written by one of my psychologist colleagues who is Lithuanian regarding how the people in that country killed Jews and covered it up by indicating that they really weren’t fighting the Nazis but directed their military against the Russian inv

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It is a good time to remember that the secret to happiness and the moral life is gratitude. A few days ago, I received a video of an address/testimony of one of my most courageous former students. He has a story to tell that will show you what gratitude looks like in his journey of faith and his connection to God’s will. David Gallagher was a highly recruited football player in eighth grade among local prep schools. He chose to come to

The Inquirer (November 14) wrote about what it was like for 670,000 workers furloughed by the government and the 730,000 federal workers who were affected by the shutdown. Many of them were required to work without pay. Trump piled on with threats to not pay them if they didn’t report to work which added to their plight. The Bank of America Institute indicated that 24% of all workers live paycheck to paycheck. Investodia puts the figure at 67%. Federal workers were forced to

Vicki and I were invited to a luncheon given at the home of an EA alumnus. I checked the directions on my phone, but when we arrived, I found it difficult to fully identify the home for the luncheon. The homes were different in this cluster from an architectural perspective; but  looked the same and did not stand out. When we entered, we were greeted by the host and made our way into the middle of the gathering with a wonderful group of extroverts who engaged us readily in co

Roof Repair, Shutdowns, Function, Emotion              Jim Squire                            November 2025 One of the important themes that I learned in becoming a therapist were words spoken to me by a mentor that the best time to repair a roof is not when it is raining. Get help when there is a neutral time and not a time during chaos. This anecdote is found in our government shutdowns at the national and state level as well as in marriages that fall apart, and life in gene

One of the important themes that I learned in becoming a therapist were words spoken to me by a mentor that the best time to repair a roof is not when it is raining. Get help when there is a neutral time and not a time during chaos. This anecdote is found in our government shutdowns at the national and state level as well as in marriages that fall apart, and life in general. I met with two grandparents several months ago as they were having trouble when their  adult children

Every grifter such as Trump is the master of the spin. After the Democrats recently voted Republicans out of many offices, he said, “It was the shutdown that caused this!” Better to say that to save his ego when it really was a referendum on his leadership and how bad that leadership was for “table” considerations with not enough money because of inflation. People also saw his terrible strategy on tariffs, mass deportations, government random layoffs, tax cuts for the rich, p