Stuff I Learned Yesterday

Of course, each of us have seen the glow of the city before, but this time it was different. This time it seemed much, much brighter. But the truth is, it had been so long since either of us had ventured outside the lights of the city or the major highways coming into the city, that we’d forgotten just how big the glow is when you remove yourself from it. It’s not just the lights or hustle and bus...

I’ve seen countless photos and videos of the Lincoln Memorial, but seeing with my own eyes was magnificent. Many consider Lincoln to be the greatest president of all time, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. The details carved into every part of the memorial left me in awe. I felt like I was standing at the feet of greatness. It’s easy to see why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would stand at this very s...

Rat Race. No, I’m not referring to the 2001 film starring Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, and Cuba Gooding Jr. I’m referring to that trap many of us fall into. Wikipedia says a rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. Don’t get me wrong, this is not entirely bad. After all, our career is how we...

The Bible is alive, it does speak to me. As I read it and go through my day, it shapes my thoughts and actions. It challenges me to grow in every part of my life, teaches me how to be a better husband, father, and worker. It teaches me about the character of God, morality, history, how to manage money, and so much more. It reveals my shortcomings and transforms my mind.  The post 627- Daily Bread...

Today is Monday Mailbag day and we have contribution from John. Here's John's submission. The post 626- Monday Mailbag appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More .

During the second quarter of a football game last season as the crowd was raucously cheering on the home team, my friend leaned over to me and said, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I said. “What’s the secret to raising girls?” Of all the questions he could have asked me in that moment, I never would have guessed that would be it. The post 625- Committing to Growth appeared first on Golden Spir...

The fact is, AI and robotics are coming. If they haven’t already started to change or disrupt some part of your life, it’s only a matter of time before they do. For me, I’ve discovered ways to use AI to better my skills and provide improved services to my clients. But I’ve barely scratched the surface of how AI can be used in my industry. It’s challenging because AI is changing quickly and what AI...

As a parent, I have tried very hard to keep this principle in mind. I haven’t always been good at keeping my emotions in check so that I can assess the situation objectively, but when I have been able to check myself, my kids and myself have been better for it. We are all going to mess up and cause accidents, especially the youngest among us. The post 623- Remembering Happy Accidents appeared firs...

Many depictions of the Christmas story include the wise men at the manger most likely for the sake of simplicity. That doesn’t mean the Bible is incorrect, but that depictions of the story are incorrect. What some skeptics do consider to be a contradiction is the differences in where the family lived and traveled after Jesus was born. Are these indeed contradictions that disprove the Biblical stor...

Elephants do indeed have excellent memories. If you’re like me, you think of this fact as a good thing. That is, if someone says you have a memory like an elephant, you’d take it as a compliment. Today I’m going to flip that on its head, show how it can be a negative, and hopefully help you examine your own life to see if you have a memory like an elephant. The post 621- Finding Freedom Through Fo...

John looked at my problem and offered up his idea of the best solution. Like C-3PO I looked at that path as too rocky. Not only was it more than I had the budget for, I knew that building the app was just the beginning. I’d have to keep a developer on retainer for bug fixes, updates, and security management. I didn’t want to be in the software development business. So I looked for a smoother path....

Growing up I always enjoyed adventure and platforming games best while my brother enjoyed sports games best. In fact, whether it was in physical sports we played in the yard or virtual sports we played via video games, I never once beat my brother. That is, until one day while spending the weekend with our grandparents we rented Joe Montana Football. That fateful day I discovered he was unable to...

We had each channeled our inner Grandpa Joe and allowed the alluring wonders of a chocolate factory to serve as our motivation for getting out of bed that day. After a quick stroll down the pier to meet up with our driver, we soon found ourselves standing at the curb of Graycliff Chocolatier. Once inside we were given protective gowns and hair nets. I first assumed these were to protect the chocol...

Whether it’s your heart, brain, or gut, there’s definitely something to be said about these intuition moments. I’ve used my gut to make thousands of decisions over the course of my life, some of which I was very aware of how my gut played into the decision, and I’m sure many others where it happened so naturally that I didn’t even realize it. I’m sure you’re the same way too. Today I want to share...

Maybe we should start our own procrastinators anonymous group. They say the first step to recovery is acknowledging you have a problem so here goes: My name is Darrell Darnell and I’m a procrastinator. Feel free to acknowledge your procrastinating too if it seems fitting. For me, I find myself procrastinating mostly around one of two types of tasks. Those tasks are anything related to invoicing an...

When we face uncertain times, we are wise when we tap into the experience of others who have walked down the road before. We have to face our fears and move forward. Once we make that decision to move forward, it’s best if we have a friend and confidant to hold us by the hand and carry us through. We don’t need to go through those experiences alone, and we’re much better off when we have that trus...

In case you’re wondering if there was a time in my life when I was a pastor that I’ve not shared with you before, I have not. In fact, I have never been in full time ministry. With an episode title of Professing Your Faith, you might think that this episode is about how to tell other people about Jesus. Whether you think that episode topic is a good one or not, that’s not where I’m going today. We...

Today is Monday Mailbag day and I’m always excited to hear your stories and feedback. We have two contributors today: Jason and Andrew. Thanks to Jason and Andrew for the contributions. I appreciate your willingness to share your lives with us and you’ve made this episode a great one. The post 613- Monday Mailbag appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts &a...

Back in episode 597 I mentioned that I sold my beloved 1972 MGB GT. For those of you who have followed me on social media for a while, you may have seen me first mention that I sold it back in February of this year, and a few days later I first mentioned that I’d actually purchased its replacement last October, fixed that car up, and had been driving it ever since. So WHY did I sell my dream car j...

I think we’ve all been in a situation where either we as kids or when we were older with kids of our own ran into someone that we hadn’t seen in a while. Maybe it was a family member at a reunion or perhaps it was an old friend at the grocery store. Either way, that person looks at the kid and is surprised at how much they’ve grown. Even us as parents can have this experience with our own kids whe...

Okay let me be real with you. When I put together an episode, I start with a moment from my life that has impacted me in some way. In the process of impacting me, I can typically look at it and see a clear, big lesson. This story is not like that. It’s obvious that the story I’ve shared with you today has impacted me in a deep, emotional way. But what is the clear, big lesson? I’m not sure. Howeve...

For today’s episode, let’s think about the disciples. If you were to gather up 12 of your friends for a meal, you can imagine the different characteristics and personality types that would be represented around that table. Jesus’ disciples were no different. Today we’re going to focus on one of the disciples named Peter. Before Peter encountered Jesus, his profession was a fisherman. He would have...

I wanted to die. What was I supposed to do? Stand up and wave? Tell her thank you? Smile? I shrunk down in my chair, gave her a fake smile, and stared at my notebook the remainder of class. I still liked her as a teacher and found her class easy, but dreaded my seat and the attention she’d drawn to me. I appreciated the compliment on my work, but the whole situation just made me feel even more ins...

On business trips, business comes first. Whether I’m traveling on my dime or someone else’s, a business trip is for business purposes. Take care of business. But I also learned that it’s okay to get out of the hotel and enjoy the sights of a city while you’re there. I should have realized this by the behavior and encounters I’d had with my boss, but it took this encounter with Jim to help me fully...

In episode 44 I gave you a glimpse at the woman who would become my mother-in-law. She was wonderful on that day and she was a wonderful mother-in-law for the next 23 years. Last week was the two year anniversary of when we lost her. Today, I wanted to set aside this episode as a tribute to her. I’ve asked Dave, my father-in-law, my two brothers-in-law, Marc and Brian, and my wife, Kari, to send i...