Seven Steps to a Spectacular Life
Christ came to set us free, first and foremost from ourselves. Until and unless you choose to accept what He has allowed, you will never be free. If you purpose to cultivate the skills that I’m going to share with you today, you’ll change your life and be liberated to live with hope and peace. […]
Your Life in 20 Years
I had never seen anything like it. While traveling through Asia many years ago, we spent several days in the most populated, packed city of China—Shanghai. While quietly people-watching out of our tour bus window, I saw an older-looking gentleman moving massive rocks with what appeared to be an ancient yoke. His back bowed under […]
The One Thing You Cannot Live Without
This has not been the greatest week to start my “Gratefulness” journal. Seriously. With summer heating up, schedules out of sorts, and my attitude turning sour, keeping a gratefulness journal seemed like a good idea. But that was before summer started. Day one went relatively well, and day two went better. Let’s say some self-sufficient […]
Three Core Essentials for Every Christian
Few things make us feel more vulnerable than being naked. Without covering, we’re exposed and often invaded by feelings of fear, weakness, and worry—susceptible to the winds and whims of humanity. We long to hide. Our desire to “run for cover” is not new. It began in the garden and has continued ever since. Really, […]
When You Need to Start Over
It was a tug-of-war game with the tape dispenser. My son Jon and I were wrapping a birthday present together. My job was to cut and hold the paper, and Jon had tape duty. For Jon, any activity that involves motor skills can be challenging. Here’s why: motor skills are muscle-related actions that accomplish a […]
Strategies for Storm Survival
Years ago, I cruised through Alaska’s inside passage. Majestic tree-lined forests tower far above the cloud level, framing the ocean waters that spread between the shorelines in calm quietness. The inside passage cruise is unique in that there are only a few hours when the ship sails through the open ocean without visible land on […]
What You Have to Know Today
Jesus began the reframing process. For people to accept who He was as He was would have been quite a leap back then. Maybe it’s a leap for you today, because your life has taken an unexpected twist and the whirlwind has you twisted up. Perhaps you are one who has (mis)labeled other people; how […]
When Life Takes You to the Edge
Ten words, ten minutes, and I would swear time travel is possible. My friends had just added their third child to their tribe: a baby boy that was born with unexpected, massive medical luggage they will carry for him as long as life carries on. I was transported back in time as I scanned the […]
5 Timeless, Transforming Lessons from a Tiny Teddy Bear
There is no question . . . God’s ways are not our ways! Just when all appears lost, an ever-so-tiny ray of something will play enough hide and seek with our hearts to let us know He’s not forgotten us or made His first massive, messy mistake. Though we may be at our worst, He’s […]
When Your Comfort Zone Gets Crushed
No one chooses his or her family members; and for a long time our family circumstances were less than desirable. For years we were stuck believing our “rights” had been violated. By “rights” I mean those often unexpressed expectations that we cling to as Christians; the privileges, comforts, or circumstances that, if we’re left uncomfortable […]
Five Requirements for a Character on Fire
I am not the survivalist type—like those people who choose to be plopped in some remote place on some planet with a walking stick and hairnet and survive for weeks on end. However, there’s one little problem: when I watch one of those survival programs, I actually believe I would be a stellar frontier companion. […]
Painful Days
Are you in physical pain today? Someone reading this is in pain. Perhaps it’s you. Or maybe you know someone in pain. Pain rarely makes sense and often continues without relief. Throughout the ages, others who have endured pain have turned their attention from the temporary pain to things eternal by meditating on passages of […]