“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth.” wrote James A. Allen in his classic little book As A Man Thinketh.
“If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind,” Allen adds. Continue reading
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“Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.”
“The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said “hello” when “ssssopp!” Chippie got sucked in.” Continue reading
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What drives your life? What is your aim in life? Your purpose? Your ultimate goal?
The answers to those questions will provide the motivation and reason for your spiritual growth.
This year we have written 36 posts on our theme Sowing Seeds for Spiritual Growth. We’ve discussed “the what” and “the how” of growth, but it has suddenly occurred to me that we have not specifically addressed “the why” of growth. Continue reading
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“Never did a great mind produce so little,” commented William Barclay about Samuel Taylor Coleridge the British poet.
In summarizing Coleridge’s undisciplined life, Barclay wrote, “He left Cambridge University to join the army; he left the army because he could not rub down a horse; he returned to Oxford and left without a degree. He began a paper called “The Watchman” which lived for ten numbers and then died.” Continue reading
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There’s an old peanuts comic strip where Lucy is making fun of Linus for wanting to be a doctor.
She says, “You could never be a doctor. You know why? Because you don’t love mankind, that’s why!” Continue reading
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Matt Woodley, managing editor of PreachingToday.com, tells about the time he was playing on the Freshman basketball team and they were down 8 points at half-time to a team they should have been beating.
Coach Hammerstien, affectionately nick-named “The Hammer” by his players, for his demanding demeanor and occasional outbursts, was livid when they went into the locker room. In the midst of his lecture about their lackluster performance Woodley said he yawned. Continue reading
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According to blogger and self-improvement writer, Moreno Zugaro “when native tribes in Africa want to catch a monkey, they drill a hole into a rock or tree – large enough for a monkey’s hand, but too small for a clenched monkey fist.”
Zugaro says they then fill it with peanuts “Once a monkey grabs the treat, it can’t get its hand out of the hole anymore. It panics, holding on to the very thing that keeps it trapped. Continue reading
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“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it,” once wrote Henry David Thoreau.
In terms of being successful in life, John Maxwell refers to Thoreau’s thought as “the law of trade-offs.” In other words you have to give up to grow up.
This principle rings true in the area of spiritual growth. Continue reading
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Some time ago Forbes Magazine published a piece “Give Up…To Grow.” It was career advice for business and professional people about giving up a position, a job, or some aspect of control in order to be more successful.
The article spoke of getting out of one’s comfort zone, assuming risks, and “taking a leap of faith.” The point of the article was that financial, business and career success comes with a cost. You must be willing to give up something in order to grow. Continue reading
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“Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others,” wrote John Maxwell in his book The Success Journey.
True success in any area of life is not independent from other people. We learn from others. Find inspiration from others. And receive encouragement from others.
But more than that, much of our satisfaction in life is derived from helping other people. By lifting them up. By feeling like we’re making a difference. By knowing that our life matters. Continue reading
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