Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

A bad habit of mine wrecked many conversations before they had a chance to start—accusation.

I wish I had the wisdom and humility 20 years ago to say, “I have fears that cause me to interpret some of the things you do as proof that those fears are true,” rather than accusing others.

I tend to hold conclusions based on my observations and lead into conversations with them—until they’re disproven. While that works in science and sounds perfectly reasonable, it’s toxic for relationships. In science, you’re the one confirming or disproving a hypothesis based on new findings. In relationships, it comes off as an accusation—where you’ve put someone in a position to defend themselves before giving them any benefit of the doubt. It's cold, clinical and ungracious.

There’s also a kind of hubris in this approach: it assumes I’m completely objective in what I observe—but I’m not. Our fears skew our perspective, and it takes humility to admit that. It also requires the maturity to accept our limitations—there are always variables we can’t see.

“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?”
—1 Corinthians 2:11

Our fears aren’t always reality—but sometimes they are. If someone is doing something that bothers you, and you’re dealing with someone compassionate, starting with vulnerability, fears, humility and where I may be wrong can lead to a more constructive conversation—because it’s exploratory rather than accusatory.

I can’t go back in time, but the next best thing is to pay forward what I’ve learned. I pray it helps someone perfect their love.

#RightOrReconciled #perfectourlove #marriage #communication

Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

I'm not waiting "until I get there" to live.

Today is my life.

Vision is a two-edge sword.

It's good to dream big and to express the beautiful possibilities you see in the Lord.

But, there's a danger of overlooking today in pursuit of what I want tomorrow to look like.

There's a risk of being dissatisfied with now because I've not achieved my vision for the future.

There's a pressure and anxiety about what I'm building and whether I'm making any progress, but the Lord tells me to be faithful to Him with today.

I must learn to live every day fully unto the Lord and tomorrow will take care of itself because, then, He does the building.

" Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
— Psalm 127:1

Not anxious, and dissatisfied.

But anticipatory, and delighted in the Lord, today.

"Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart."
— Psalm 37:4

Delight myself in the Lord and He will give me the desires of my heart.

What is the desire of my heart?

The Lord.

And, I shall receive more of Him.

Even days that are difficult are an opportunity to be with the Lord in a new way.

I'm not waiting "until I get there" to live.

Today is my life.

If He's with me, I'm there.

Today is good.

#TodayIsGood #perfectourlove #thriveday #goodworks

Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, April 28, 2025.

We grow when we are sufficiently challenged, and this competition certainly stretched our students. As they encountered concepts they had never seen before, they wrestled with frustration and fear — but they rose to the challenge.

One by one, you could see the light bulbs come on as students shifted from "I don't know if I can do this," to "Hey, I can do this!" — and even better, "I want to do this!"

This is the pinnacle of education.

I want to give a huge thank you to Director @[1457223027:2048:Shelly Hollis], Professor Dr. George Trawick and their team with the MSU Center for Cyber Education and @[100070802282797:2048:Cce Msstate] for organizing such an impactful event, as well as to Martin Rivera and his team with the Mississippi Cyber Initiative for providing the technology infrastructure for the practice range and creating real-world challenges that helped move students from theory to application.

It was a great experience for our kids.

I'm incredibly proud of our students who went from no knowledge of cybersecurity analysis, then showed up, worked hard, and emerged as Champions of the first-ever MSU Cowbell CTF Cybersecurity Competition.

#GreenWaveJuniorTech #FutureTechLeaders #STEMeducation #WorkBasedLearning #UpgradeYourLife #CowbellCTF #Cybersecurity #Champions #TooMuchPoint #UpgradeYourLife

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

We're living in an incredible time of flux and uncertainty in our country.

There's an extraordinary amount of activity that's kicking up a lot of dust, but when that dust settles there will be a new set of winners and losers.

Whether we, Starkville, emerge as a winner will depend on our city's leadership having the skill, experience, and—perhaps most importantly—the relationships with the various partners and entities that drive our economic development. The ability to make the necessary strategic decisions and investments will be critical in determining our future.

Having served with Mayor Lynn Spruill on a number of different boards and committees, I have had the unique opportunity of working with her through another incredible time of flux and uncertainty: the COVID pandemic.

The challenges faced by our local industry and municipality were extraordinary—namely navigating the logistical nightmare COVID created for city projects. I witnessed Mayor Spruill take these issues in stride—with a steady hand, she confronted these issue with skill and decisiveness while cooperating with other leaders and stakeholders to successfully navigate a minefield.

It was something to behold. I learned a lot through that ordeal. Our Mayor is an operational strategist par excellence. During a period that could have easily resulted in contraction, Starkville achieved growth.

We are extremely fortunate to have her.

Even while managing these high-stakes responsibilities, she remained actively engaged in supporting all of Starkville, including under-resourced areas of our community. I had the privilege of working alongside her on some of these initiatives and saw her invest—not just her own money, but her time, voice, and presence—despite the extraordinary demands on her schedule.

Mayor Spruill has been accessible, skillful, strategic and principled in her leadership of Starkville. I am delighted that she decided to run again as we desperately need her at the helm to see us through yet another challenging season and to put Starkville in a position to win.

She has my full vote of confidence.

I'd vote for her for President, if I could.