As we approach Thanksgiving, Good News Wants to Know…To whom would you like to write a “thank you” note right now (e.g., a childhood friend, business colleague, neighbor?) and why? If I can write anyone a thank you note right now, it would be to my grandfather. His name was Peter, but we called him Pop. Not only was he the nicest, most loving, caring person that I ever met, but he was the first person that ever brought my brother and I to church. I never met a person that did not like Pop. He would travel through a blizzard to […]

As people seek freedom from the communist regime in Cuba, the uprising is impacting all of us as many in Cuba are without food and starving. Here in South Florida we see public demonstrations, and we all have friends, family or co-workers with roots in Cuba. Good News Wants to Know…  What are your feelings and how is this situation personally impacting you? I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, which has become socialist/communist under Chavez and Maduro. We have family and friends that live there still, and we have friends who came from Cuba and lost everything when they had […]

We process most communication based on what we know about the person communicating. We make positive or negative assumptions based on our personal experience with them or on the credibility of their reputation or the person or organization who made the introduction. If our experience has been negative, we will filter the person’s message through a negative lens. We’ll assume the worst. If our experience has been positive, we will assume the best even when the words don’t match. I have a friend who regularly says things that, although well-intended, come across as judgmental. Many times I’ve said, “They didn’t […]