Tag Archives: Life

A Message of Hope

I like the story Alan Smith tells about Tom who had never been on a fishing boat before and now was thinking it was the stupidest thing he’d ever done in his life. Who would ever have believed that seasickness could be this awful? With every pitch and roll, Tom wondered how he was going to survive the remaining two hours of the trip.

One of the deck hands came up to him and said, “Don’t worry, young fella. Nobody ever died of seasickness.”

“You’ve just taken away my last hope for relief,” Tom said. Continue reading

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The Treadmill of Life

The other day I posted some reflections about life’s daily pleasures that were sparked by walking the dog through the neighborhood.  Today finds me at the Temple Terrace Recreation Center on the treadmill.

Now, this is not one of those new state-of-the-art exercise centers.  I’m a small room with concrete walls and a few narrow windows to see out.  In front of me are two Middle Eastern men carrying on a conversation in a language I can’t understand.  To the right, an elderly gentleman got on a treadmill carrying a book.  I greeted him with a cheery, “Hello.”  To which he uttered not a word. Not even a grunt.  He promptly put the machine on a slow speed and began reading.  To the left of me is a woman in a trance-like state, looking straight ahead.  At least, I have a small TV where I can watch some fair and balanced news on Fox!

All of this got me thinking about how walking the treadmill is like life. Continue reading

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Enjoying Life’s Daily Pleasures

I needed a break.  I’ve been working on some sermon series for my Spring meetings.  And just need to relax my mind a bit.  So, I brewed some coffee and decided to take the dog for a walk.  During that 45 minutes I started thinking about the enjoyment of the little things in life.  Things that, if we don’t slow down, we rush through and fail to savor. Continue reading

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Living with Enthusiasm

Curtis Jones relates the legend of  a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee, Paul.  In time he encountered Timothy, who arranged for a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul’s blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, “What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before.” Continue reading

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What’s Your Purpose in Life?

Have you ever spent time walking through old cemeteries reading the epithets on the tombstones? They’re interesting.

I read of a man who came across an epithet that read: “Remember Friend, as you walk by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you must be; so prepare for death to follow me.” He felt something was missing so he added the words “To follow you I might consent, if I only knew which way you went!” Continue reading

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“Can I Quote You On That?”

What do you suppose that I have in common with the fellow at the left–Michel Eyquem de Montaigne ?

Guess again.

It’s not the nose!

Who’s Montaigne? Continue reading

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Seeing Life Through A Different Lens

“It still wasn’t a bad day,” said Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow. “It still was a good day.”  What day was he talking about?  When he had a flat tire on his car?  Or his cell phone died?  Probably when he had an off game, but the team still won?  Right?

Continue reading

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