Recently I read a story about a 78 year old lady, Aleida Huissen, from Rotterdam, Netherlands, who had been smoking for 50 years.
And for 50 years she’s been trying to quit. Every attempt failed, until…
Until Leo Jansen entered the picture. The 79 year old proposed marriage with one condition. Aleida had to quit smoking. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb to the peak and conquer Mount Everest was once asked by an interviewer about his passion for mountain climbing. To which he offered this insightful reply. “It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.”
Hillary’s response is reminiscent of a quote by the 17th-century Russian monarch Peter the Great who once lamented, “I have been able to conquer an empire, but I have not been able to conquer myself.” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Norma Jean and I have recently returned from a trip to Ontario, Canada. We drove 4,000 miles. During the entire time, I used a GPS.
My #1 GPS choice is WAZE. But occasionally, I would use Google maps. Or Apple. And once in a while the GPS on my Ford Expedition.
The GPS mapped the way for us to arrive at our destination. It provided the most direct route. When obstacles such as road closures, traffic jams, or road construction occurred, the GSP either offered us a brief detour or advised us to stay the course because the slowdown would be brief. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
The retired Radio and TV personality, Charles Osgood, known for his daily radio commentary “The Osgood Files,” once shared this poignant story.
Two ladies who lived in a convalescent center had each suffered an incapacitating stroke. Margaret’s stroke left her left side restricted, while Ruth’s stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished pianists but had given up hope of ever playing again. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
I recently read about two men who were coaches in the National Football League. Both won two Super Bowls. Both are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Both were considered winners in their profession. But each had different life priorities.
The first was a college coach, but when he became a head coach in the NFL he divorced his wife of 26 years saying that he no longer needed “the social prop of a spouse” which was helpful in recruiting college players. He said that winning football games was his #1 priority in life. And his two sons were #2 Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Last Sunday I was blessed to preach for the Wellandport Church in Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada. I have spoken there many times over the past few years, but it’s always a special treat to be with these wonderful brethren.
The Shepherds asked me to present lessons this month on my series “Let’s Renew in ‘22,” my preaching and writing theme this year. My keynote lesson takes the form often used in a New Year’s sermon, challenging us to take inventory of our lives, reevaluate our priorities, and set goals.
It occurred to me that we’re at a halfway point in the year, which is not a bad time to reexamine ourselves. Have your New Year’s resolutions, and 2022 goals fallen by the wayside? Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22
“Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe,” once wrote the 4th-century theologian Augustine.
This reminds me of an unknown author who expressed it this way: “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.”
In our cynical, secular, irreligious, and immoral culture, we need a renewal of faith.
But what kind of faith? Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
The devotional booklet Our Daily Bread relates a story about a man who loved old books.
One day he met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. “I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained. “Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
In one of his devotional books, LeRoy Brownlow told a story about a man explaining ethics to his son.
“Ethic is vital to a workable and confident society,” he said. “For instance, a friend paid me back today a loan with a new hundred-dollar bill. Later I discovered there were two hundred-dollar bills stuck together. This immediately presented a question of ethics.” Pausing he said… Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
There is an old saying that offers this insight. “There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”
People who make things happen are people of initiative. They see things that need to be done and they don’t wait to be asked or told they just do them.
Webster says that initiative involves the “energy or aptitude in the initiation of action.” Etymologically it’s rooted in the Latin word “initium” which speaks “to beginning.” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
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