With the beginning of baseball season, I’m reminded of a story about George Brett who enjoyed an All-Star 20 years career with the Kansas City Royals during the 1970s and 80s.
Brett was once asked by a reporter what he wanted to do in his last at-bat when he retired. No doubt, many ballplayers would like to end their career with a 400 foot home run like Ted Williams did at Fenway Park. However, that’s not what Brett said. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
March Madness is here with its passion, enthusiasm, borderline crazy fans, and its exuberant color commentators.
If you watch any of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament over the past few days, you know what I’m talking about.
We had to listen to a few games on the radio while driving home, and those announcers know how to colorfully describe the game to make it come alive.
If you’ve ever attended a tournament game the atmosphere is electric. The fans, coaches, cheerleaders, bands, and players are excited about the game of basketball. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
“Thank you for working,” I said to the Cracker Barrel server on one of our recent trips.
She simply smiled and said nothing.
When she returned with our coffee, I asked her, “Do you know why I thanked you for working?”
“I guess you’re hungry,” she replied.
“Well, I am hungry,” I admitted. “But that wasn’t the reason.” Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week, Work
In Bits & Pieces, William C. Schultz tells about a time his 3-year-old daughter Laurie requested help in getting undressed and ready for bed.
Schultz said he was downstairs and she was upstairs, so he reminded her, “You know how to undress yourself,”
“Yes,” Laurie replied, ‘but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they do know how to do things by themselves.” Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
The power of belief has been well documented in physical and material pursuits in life. From sports to business, to our personal goals and dreams belief in a necessary ingredient for success.
Napoleon Hill, known for his books on self-help and positive thinking, in his classic bestseller Think and Grow Rich, wrote, “Whatever your mind can conceive, and believe, it can achieve.”
As we continue to explore the theme Reaching Forward, and discuss the 10 concepts in Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, Forward, that are encapsulated in a single word, we come to the word, “believe.” Continue reading
Filed under Reaching Forward Series, Word of the Week
In his book Forward, David Jeremiah tells the story of swimmer Joseph Schooling, Singapore’s first-ever gold medal winner in the 2016 Olympics.
When Schooling was asked what it was like to be one of the best swimmers in the world and win a gold medal, his reply was surprising. Continue reading
Filed under Reaching Forward Series, Word of the Week
““The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it,” opined educator William Mather Lewis.
Mather’s observation speaks to the challenge of the masses who simply exist, instead of truly live. They follow the path of least resistance. They go through the motions. They are as my friend and preaching colleague, Gary Henry once wrote, “passive puppets who’re ‘being lived.’” Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
Thomas Donelan, a Florida minister, offered this description of tolerance.
To tolerate means I can disagree with you while still respecting you.
One person is a Republican, another Democrat. We put aside our differences and get along.
One person is a (Florida) Gator, another a (FSU) Seminole. We put aside our differences and get along.
Some of us are NY Yankee fans, the rest of you hate baseball. I love you anyway, and we get along. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized, Word of the Week
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
These familiar words, often seen on plaques, were written by the American theologian, Richard Niebuhr, and is commonly known as “The Serenity Prayer.” They speak to challenges we all face in life. But the ability to properly deal with our ever changing and often unexpected circumstances hinges on wisdom. Continue reading
The late R. J. Stevens and his son, Tim, have done more for lifting and improving the praise worship of God’s people than any two men I’ve ever known.
But their work has gone beyond teaching the fundamentals of music, how to beat time, or pitch a song. They have reminded us of the why and the Who behind our praise.
Tim once observed that praise is not just an outward act. Praise stems from who we are. The inner person. The heart. Like the ancient poet, we should exclaim, “Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart! (PS 11:1). Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
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