Pain is a problem for many people. No, not just the suffering, but understanding “why.”
While volumes have been written on the subject, this short facebook post from “Daily Devotionals by Rick Warren”, with credit given to the source “How to Get Through What You’re Going Through,” offers some insight. Continue reading
Filed under facebook friday
Recently I read about a young man in the Army who during Operation Desert Storm was called to go to Iraq, when our nation declared war on Saddam Hussein.
However, the young man didn’t want to go. He explained that he hadn’t joined the army to go war. He joined because of the benefits: the pay, the college tuition, the insurance, and hopefully some travel. He just didn’t want to travel to Iraq and fight. Continue reading
Filed under Sowing Seeds for Spiritual Growth
The 17th century German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, was said to be a deeply religious man who was a Creationist.
The story’s told, though it may be apocryphal, that Kepler was troubled by a friend who denied God’s existence. In order to convince him, Kepler constructed a model of the universe with the sun and the planets revolving around it.
When the friend visited his Observatory one day and saw the model, he exclaimed, “How beautiful it is! Who made it?” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
The late Herb Caen was a journalist and humorist who wrote a a daily column for the San Francisco Chronicle. He once wrote this humorous piece.
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
I recently came across an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that went like this.
Calvin: I’m at peace with the world and I’m completely serene.
Hobbes: Why is that?
Calvin: Because I’ve discovered my purpose in life. I know why I was put here and why everything exists. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship
“There is a theory of human behavior that says people subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth,” wrote author and business consultant Philip B. Crosby. “They come to rely on cliches and habits.”
Crosby further opined, “Once they reach the age of their own personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their mind runs on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, they may even work night and day. But they learn no more.” Continue reading
Filed under Sowing Seeds for Spiritual Growth
Yesterday morning I was watching the Today Show when they interviewed, Adam Grant recognized as Wharton’s top-rated professor for seven straight years.
Grant, is an organizational psychologist and a “leading expert on how we can find meaning and motivation and live more generous and creative lives.”
The interviewer was asking Grant about his perspective on goal setting in the New year. His response that the new year is a ideal time to set new goals because it provides a natural window of opportunity. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Life, Success
Motivational speaker, trainer, and author Glenn Van Ekeren, illustrates the benefits of giving through the life of John D. Rockefeller.
Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil Company, was considered the wealthiest American of his time. Yet, it is said that by age 58 his life was a wreck. He worried that his success was temporary. Van Ekeren writes “He became sick physically, mentally and emotionally. There was no humor, balance, or joy in his life. Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
“What is at the center of your life?” asked author, minister, and therapist Wayne Muller.
“Carefully examine where you spend your attention, your time,” Muller advised. “Look at your appointment book, your daily schedule. This is what receives your care and attention–an by definition, your love.”
On this Lord’s Day, it’s a good time to ask and reflect on what really is the center of my life? Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
“I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether,“ wrote the English writer and philosopher, H.G. Wells at age 61.
The poet Lord Byron admitted, “My days are in yellow leaf, the flowers and fruits of life are gone, the worm and the canker, and the grief are mine alone.”
The literary genius Thoreau opined “Most men live lives of quiet desperation.” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
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