The beginning of a new year brings opportunities to dream new dreams, to discover new visions and to take important steps toward fulfilling your destiny. The pause we create as we say goodbye to the old year and embrace what lies ahead, gives us time to listen to the voice of the Spirit and respond to the heart of God. This is the time to […]
Well, here we are again, entering into another new beginning. These new beginnings are wonderful opportunities to assess where we’ve been and to prayerfully consider where we are going. Now is where we remind ourselves of what God did for us in the past and ask ourselves what we did for God. It is the time when we dream about the future and pray for God’s vision […]
What happened to civility? I know we are overburdened and rushed for time. I understand that we are working to make ends meet and worried about the current economic forecast. I recognize that we have opinions and passions, but when did it become acceptable to subjugate the way we respect and treat others in order to make ourselves and our agenda the only thing that matters. […]
Have you ever noticed how easily some things go unnoticed? All too often we grow comfortable with what we know and what we see. Before long, we are blinded to things that are amazingly visible to others. Without an awakening or some intervention that causes us to look afresh at our lives and our environment we remain unaware. In one way, this is a gift. […]
The final Conference bringing the merging of four regional conferences together, getting our youngest daughter back to school for her senior year, kicking off the beginning of the church program year, and a myriad of meetings to get ready for the year’s end, these are the things that have filled my schedule recently. It is amazing how quickly the pace of life can change. In […]
“Hurry up!” “How fast can you get that done.” “Is there an abridged version?” Speed is the order of the day. We travel faster, read faster and work faster. Slow traffic annoys us. We prefer television programs where the plot is introduced, developed and resolved all within 30 minutes (including commercial breaks). An entire business market has developed to help us grasp great works of […]
I confess, I am one of those people who loves logic puzzles. I think it goes back to my childhood when my father would use them to get me to go to sleep, or to be quiet in the car. He would say, “Charlie, I will give you 50 cents if you can answer this,” and then there would be some mental puzzle about two […]
We love the familiar: the broken in shoes, our favorite chair, the worn-out sweatshirt we continue to wear. We follow routine paths in our driving and our actions. We eat our favorite foods and enjoy our favorite television programs. There is simply something comforting about the things and places we know well that make us feel secure amid the changes around us. At the same […]