Michael Hoyt Matthew

Category: The Real World

  • I scratched your car

    It was Saturday morning.  My wife and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking when our three year old son walked in the front door and said, “daddy, I scratched your car.” My brand new Subaru station wagon was parked in the driveway.  It was less than two weeks old.  He took my hand…

  • Family values

    Children grow up in a family.  Adults grow up at work. Children are taught rules of behavior that help them find their place within the family.  The most important thing in a family is values.  Rules point to the family’s values: Tell the truth because … Pay attention in school because … Be kind to…

  • Is Jesus a problem?

    I received an email yesterday telling me of a conspiracy. It seems the atheists are trying to get Jesus out of the government. The email also contained a prayer designed to keep Jesus in the government and also protect my home, family and income. That’s all well and good, but here’s where I get confused.…

  • I want my life back

    The world promises the young a future filled with joy and pleasurable things. All they need to do is accept the ways and means laid before them; education, work, effort. Jobs, careers, and positions of wealth and esteem are attained by those willing to make the necessary commitments. Progress is not always easy and decisions…

  • An invitation to conflict

    You are invited to join in the conflict. Choose as many as you’d like. Here are a few of the more popular ones; the war on drugs, cancer, obesity, etc. One of the nice things about most of these conflicts is that you do not need to carry a weapon. Of course, there will be…

  • The truth is invisible

    The world about us provides a reality, not the only reality but its substance cannot be denied. Our external reality may be one of comfort, misery or anything in between. It may also fluctuate. It should be evident that anyone living enjoyably with a degree of prosperity may quickly find their situation changed to the…

  • The beginning is not the end

    If you had known us in college you would never have suspected that we would turn out as we did. We were roommates, not by choice but rather by circumstance. Oh, we were friends, but completely opposite in almost every way. He had never left the state of his birth, while I had already visited…