The Englishman John Donne was one of the great Metaphysical poets of the 17th century. His most famous sonnet “Death Be Not Proud” is part of a sequence of poems called “The Holy Sonnets.”
The poet personifies death and says you are not as tough as you think you are. Continue reading
Filed under Death
Last night I watched the Indiana-Purdue basketball game. It is one of the most intense and heated rivalries in college basketball.
They have played 203 times since 1901. The rivalry even has its own Wikepedia page describing notable disputes, technical fouls, ejection of coaches, overtime games and of course, the famous Bob Knight chair-throwing incident that happened 31 years ago today.
Last night I watched the #22 ranked Hoosiers match up with the #17 ranked Boilermakers with complete confidence that Indiana would win the game. Continue reading
Joe Theismann, now an ESPN sports commentator, enjoyed an illustrious career with Washington Redskins as an All Pro quarterback.
Theismann, who led the Redskins to two Super Bowl appearances–winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record books as Washington’s all-time leading passer.
However, at the end of Theismann’s career he learned a bitter lesson. In an interview he said, “I got stagnant. I thought the team revolved around me. I should have known it was time to go when I didn’t care whether a pass hit Art Monk in the 8 or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything.” Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
A man asked his wife, “What would you most like for your 40th birthday?”
She said, “I’d love to be ten again.”
On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and they went to a theme park. He put her on every ride in the park – the Death Slide, The Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear. She had a go on every ride there was.
She staggered out of the theme park five hours later, her head reeling and her stomach turning. Then they were off to a movie theater where they ate popcorn and sweets and drank Cola. At last, she staggered home with her husband and collapsed into bed. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
“What if you could have a GPS for your life?” asks author and leadership coach Michael Hyatt.
Hyatt then relates a personal story of getting lost one time on a hike in the Colorado Rockies when he “got confused, and took the wrong path down the mountain.”
Fortunately Hyatt had a smart phone that picked up a signal and he was able to find his way back. Continue reading
One day a small boy was trying to lift a heavy rock. He strained with all his might, but he couldn’t budge it.
His father, passing by, stopped to watch his futile efforts.
Finally he said to his son: “Are you using all your strength?’
“Yes, I am!” the boy cried, exasperated. Continue reading
Filed under Great Bible Verses
In his book, Power of the Plus Factor, Norman Vincent Peale relates this story.
Once walking through the twisted little streets of Kowloon in Hong Kong, I came upon a tattoo studio. In the window were displayed samples of the tattoos available.
On the chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or whatever.
But what struck me with force were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh, Born to lose.
I entered the shop in astonishment and, pointing to those words, asked the Chinese tattoo artist, “Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body?” Continue reading
Filed under Attitude
The city of San Diego has been concerned about their city workers dropping some “F-bombs” on this President’s Day.
Yes, “F-Words” in the form of “Founding Fathers.”
This warning first appeared in a city-issued manual entitled “Bias-Free Language.” According to a report from Fox News and the Pacific Justice Institute, it “instructs workers to eliminate from their vocabulary a number of words and phrases considered gender biased, including “the common man,” “manmade,” “man up” and many others.” Continue reading
Filed under America
A couple of years ago I had a meeting in Wellandport, Ontario, Canada. Norma Jean and I stayed with our good friends Mike and Sherry Stephens.
During the week Mike was telling me about the wood mantel above his fireplace. It was a beam from his grandfather’s barn in Lincoln County, Kentucky. When I went to look at the beam, sitting on it with other pictures was a stone plaque engraved with these words that I’ve not forgotten. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
A preacher was greeting folks at the door after the service. A woman said, “Preacher, that was a very good sermon.”
Modestly the preacher replied “Thank you, but I have to give the credit to the LORD.”
“Well, It wasn’t THAT good!” she responded.
What is a good sermon? Continue reading
Filed under Preaching
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