One Sunday, a preacher took two jars to the pulpit and set them on a table. They looked identical. “These jars,” he told the congregation, “came from the same factory. They were made of the same materials. And they hold the same amount of liquid. But they are different.” Continue reading
Filed under 2014 Top Posts, character
A farmer, Jeb, and his wife, Mabel, were driving into town in their pickup truck. He was sitting behind the wheel in silence. Eyes focused on the road. Thinking about the work he had to do. Mabel was sitting on the other side of the cab against the door.
It was a beautiful Fall day. The sun was shining. The leaves were changing. And Mabel begin to reminisce about their younger days. How they enjoyed long drives in the country. Special time together. And the intimacy of a young couple in love.
Finally Mabel turned to Jeb and said, “You know when we were younger, we used to sit close together when we went out for a drive.” Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
“Your King lacks class! No one will follow him. A king has to have flair and style. He has to arouse feelings of pride and prestige. People have to identify with him. They must be able to say, ‘His prowess is my prowess and his glory is my glory!’ He has to have dignity and a certain aloofness. He has to know how to carry his crown and flash his sword in the sun. Continue reading
Filed under It's Friday. But Sunday's Coming!
Seven years ago today, September 18, 2007, Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, stood before 400 colleagues and students to deliver his final lecture entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”
It was Randy’s last lecture as a professor because he was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. On that day he was youthful, upbeat and vigorous. While he refused to wallow in self-pity, he spoke of how the cancer would eventually claim his life. Ten months later it did. Continue reading
Filed under Death, Uncategorized
“Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop” is the title of a little book by John Mason.
I read it years ago, but I recently came across it again. It’s a neat little book filled with 52 golden nuggets of two pages each. Mason’s goal is to help us rise above mediocrity. Get more out of life. And discover a new momentum for living.
Many of the chapter titles encapsulate simple spiritual truths that are obvious. But often we fail to apply. Here are a few: Continue reading
Filed under Perseverence, Persistence
A number of years ago Harvard University asked its graduating 1100 Seniors “Is success a destination or a journey?”
930 said it was a destination. They thought it was something you could measure when you had enough money, or achieved a certain fame or position.
What is success? How would you define it? Measure it? Quantify it? Continue reading
Filed under Success, Word of the Week
Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of 911.
It was a day of personal remembrance. Solemn reflection. And national introspection.
We all remember where we were and what we were doing on that day of infamy. Many of us know someone who was directly affected, killed, or either by chance or God’s grace missed being on one of those flights or in the twin towers. And, as Americans we wonder “Are we safer today than we were 13 years ago?” Continue reading
Filed under It's Friday. But Sunday's Coming!
Contemporary author Eugene Peterson once wrote, “Christian faith is not neurotic dependence, but childlike trust. We do not have a God who forever indulges our whims but a God in whom we trust with our destinies.”
Our confidence in God provides peace of mind, purpose in life, and hope for the future. As Corrie Ten Boom put it, “Faith is like a radar that sees through the fog of reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible.” Continue reading
Filed under Faith
Darrel Pace was a world champion Archer. He won four consecutive world championships from 1973 through 1976 and Olympic gold medals in 1976 and 1984.
One time Pace put on an archery exhibition in Central Park. TV reporters gathered to watch him shoot steel-tipped hunting arrows with flawless accuracy.
At one point Pace asked for a volunteer. “All you have to do,” Darrel explained, “is hold this apple in your hand, waist-high.” ABC correspondent, Josh Howell, boldly stepped forward to volunteer. Continue reading
Filed under Faith
Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet, playwright, and novelist. He is credited with a quote that has become a part of the public domain.
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Since Wilde lived in the 19th century, I wonder what he would think today? Continue reading
Filed under Faith
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