The “Merry Mex” pro golfer Lee Trevino once said, “There is one thing that never gets old, and that is winning.” While Lee was just talking about winning golf tournaments, he may not have known that he hit the nail on the head when it comes to the concept that drives our whole socio-economic system in this country. If you will think about it, the vast majority of us want to “WIN" anytime and anywhere there is a competitive activity involved. Most every school in this country has athletic teams,…

As you can tell by the title, to produce this column I am going to need some help, since it’s obvious that I am not a mother. However, I am married to a terrific woman who is a mother, and I have asked her to help write this column for us. This is a very important topic, and my prayer is that you will read and heed very carefully what Janis has to say, especially since she is highly qualified. --- I appreciate the vote of confidence from Jim, but…

If you have ever had something “nag” at you until you finally decided to do it, then you will appreciate where I am today. For the past several years I have become more and more burdened by the vast numbers of people who are willing to “bear it all” for any and all to see. Granted, I am from the older generation when everyone, especially the women, had modesty and were not about to wear revealing or skimpy clothing for eyes other than her husband. For the past several years…

While I have never been to the great state of Alaska, we have a Bookcase for Every Child project taking place in Fairbanks, Alaska, thanks to my good friend Randall Aragon. For several years Randall was Police Chief in Conway, Arkansas, but he left Conway and went to Fairbanks, where he helped get a bookcase project started. The state of Alaska is known as “The Last Frontier” because much of the state is not yet fully settled. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000.…

When I was a kid growing up in a small town in Southeast Arkansas, a lot of the farmers in the area farmed rice. You may know that rice is raised in water, which means the land must be completely level. Many times, as the planting season approached, we would see large machines with a long blade out in the fields, scraping the ground to make sure it was level. This brings me to my point: there is a place in the world where the ground is completely level all…

Over the years in writing this column, I have mentioned many times that what we need in America are more good role models; the people who have or had those qualities that we would all do well to emulate. Well today, I have one of those special people and I am very excited to tell you about him. His name is W. Clement Stone, founder of Combined Insurance Company of America. Stone was born on May 4, 1902, in Chicago, Illinois, and passed away on September 3, 2002, and he…

During our visit today I want you to know that I have some fantastic news to share with you and all other readers across the nation. As you may know, over the past couple of years I have been developing a “Character Education” course to be taught in our nation’s schools. The reason is because I am terribly concerned about the future that awaits my children and grandchildren if we do not put a stop to the massive amount of violence that is taking place all across our country. Just…

The happiest of people do not necessarily have the best of everything: they just make the best of everything that comes their way. If we are to be truly happy, and please understand there is a difference between happiness and joy, we must learn how to handle adversity. This is to say, the trials and tribulations that come along in each of our lives. It has been truthfully said that into each life a little rain must fall -- not WILL fall but MUST fall. If you are not facing…

Are you aware that, in most cases, there is more than one way to do the right thing? I heard a true story a while back that will certainly illuminate this important concept. It seems a man and his wife in one of our Western states had a horse farm and raised Tennessee Walking Horses. Working part time, after school and on weekends on the farm for this couple was a young boy by the name of Jimmy. Jimmy loved to be around the horses, was earning a little extra…