As we parted ways from a meaningful conversation, a friend once bid me a cheerful farewell by saying, "Don't work too hard!" As I began to think about his statement, I wondered, what is wrong with hard work? And how did hard work become vilified in our modern society? Isn't hard work the means of achievement?

It is going to take awhile, but I may be able to eventually forget the North Carolina newspaper picture of a man, his smiling wife and their four young sons grouped together for a swearing-in photo. The shock of seeing this seemingly happy scene in relation to the story it highlighted resulted in a sigh and sudden blur of tears.

Why should that be a problem?

When I was in my twenties, I would take the opportunity to visit my paternal grandmother on a Friday night. During these special visits, my grandmother would feed me a delicious meal as we talked sitting at her dining room table. Through some gentle prodding from me, she would recount her life, her upbringing, her family, and her life with my grandfather.

I had never had the chance to get to know my grandfather very well before he died. Yet, she was always eager to open the pages of time and reveal the man behind the yellowing photos of her worn photo album.

A few weeks ago, a county official in California stopped at the home of a San Diego pastor and his wife, peppering them with questions about the Bible study that they conduct weekly in their home. Fifteen people generally attend this peaceful meeting.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet in Shakespeare's famous work, Romeo and Juliet. The playwright makes the point that just changing the name of something doesn't change what it actually is.

It is true that communication is very important to all of us. Yet our language evolves and words or terms change in meaning from generation to generation, which can be confusing.