Dear friends, What’s your brand? Do you prefer Pete’s coffee over Starbucks? When people think about you, do they immediately think of certain qualities that make you distinctive? Do family members and friends know what they can count on from you? Does your reputation extend beyond those who know you personally? About 6 weeks ago…
Posts from 2017 (Page 3)
Do you know the difference between a “need” and a “want”? Are you sure? Most of us have read “And my God will supply every need of yours…” in Philippians 4:19 and had a certain set of circumstances in mind. Webster defines “need” as, “a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful; a condition requiring…
What comes to mind when you picture the Holy Spirit? Flames of fire, gusts of wind, or a dove? I’m certain most of us have never considered the Holy Spirit the way the ancient Irish and Scottish Christians did! In the Celtic tradition, the Holy Spirit is represented as a bird – but not a peaceful and serene dove. They chose the…
In the past week have you felt… … inadequate? … overextended? … strained? … no sense of getting ahead? … swamped by your responsibilities? … that the odds were against you? … that there wasn’t enough time to get to everything? … like you were rushed? … like you couldn’t cope? … like you had…
When I was a missionary in the Philippines I learned to appreciate the jokes of my hosts and co-workers. I say “learned to” because their sense of humor is quite different from mine. Much of their humor is based on wordplay and therefore difficult for a non-Tagalog speaker to appreciate. For instance, one of their…
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up; it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up; it knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle-when the sun…
On January 26th, 1988, I had the opportunity to be on Sydney harbor for Australia’s Bicentennial celebration. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships in Sydney in 1788. If you know any Aussies, they’ll tell you they take great national pride in their convict roots and celebrate…
Dearly beloved, Who are you hanging out with? Does it really matter? If you are a parent, are you at all concerned about your children’s friends? Years ago, I memorized this verse: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” Proverbs 13:20 Wisdom in the Old…
Parents love to see their young children learning new skills – feeding themselves, reading “c-a-t”, or putting their own shoes on. When our kids got to be a certain age, they had a favorite saying. It came a little bit after some of their other favorites, “Mine!” and “No!”. The saying was, “I do it…
Do you like a good mystery? Maybe you would prefer a nice romance novel instead? Mystery: Something not understood or beyond understanding A piece of fiction dealing usually with the solution of a mysterious crime A religious truth that one can know only by revelation like the Trinity Something profound, inexplicable, or secretive quality or character Romance:…