Posts

Friday; August 7

On this date in 1974, an entertainer by the name of Philippe Petit traversed a highwire between the two twin towers of the World Trade Center.   Now, I have to go on record as saying that this feat wasn’t not authorized by any official entity; however, it did bring him several moments of fame.   In fact, after being arrested and being subjected to a psychological evaluation, he was given the opportunity to atone for his crime by doing a publicly sanctioned event in Central Park.   The daredevil made quite a name for himself living on the cutting edge, so that’s why this comment caught my attention, “I, like everybody else, have a certain fear of heights, and I have to be very careful when I am in the clouds; but it is what I love; it is my domain, when you love something, you don’t have fear.”. As I thought about Petit’s observation I got to wondering what is holding us back from doing what we want to do?   No, I am not advocating that we all go out and break the...
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Thursday; August 6

One of the most beloved poems of all time is the 23 rd Psalm.   Among believers, it has a special place in our hearts and even those who don’t accept the Bible as their guide tend to look fondly on the comforting words of King David.   There is a lot of richness in David’s observations, but I want us to take a look at Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”.   I love the imagery of how the Great Shepherd can lead His flock to this serene scene; but I have come to appreciate it even more when I apply it to those times of turmoil in life.   While this can be a wonderful experience throughout our day-to-day lives, it becomes quite important during times of stress and crisis.   As we deal with intense challenges and burnout, we need to go to those quiet places where our minds and spirits can be restored. Are you going through a difficult season in your life?   If so, have you allowed the Lord to...
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Wednesday; August 5

Communication is an important part of our lives.   In fact, it is so important that we teach the process to our school children and offer it as advanced training for our leaders.   It doesn’t take too much effort to exchange simple information, but if we are going to build deep relationships we need to understand how to be effective communicators.   Now, I would imagine that most of us know this and agree with it, but have you noticed that few of us communicate effectively all the time? Even those people who pride themselves in their communication skills can find themselves failing.   I think one of the biggest challenges we face is when we need it the most.   Have you ever been hustling to accomplish something or deep in thought and had someone interrupt you?   We might be more tolerant when they have an emergency that needs to be addressed, but how do we react when we don’t feel it is all that urgent?   I have to admit that this is one of my weak...
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Tuesday; August 4

What do we allow to interrupt the important things in life?   Okay, now for the follow-up question:   how long are we willing to allow them to derail us?   We are all going to have times when life takes a turn we aren’t expecting and, when that happens, it is bound to knock us off track.   However, for most of us, there will come a time when a sense of normalcy sets in – are we ready, willing and able to get back in the groove of things? As I was thinking about this the other day, I got to thinking about the Apostle Paul.   As dedicated as he was to the rules and regulations (after all he had been a Pharisee) he was able to make adjustments and return to his core responsibilities.   In one letter he chronicled, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my...
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Monday; August 3

A few years ago I was growing tired of having to play catch-up when I would have one of those busy weeks and would scramble to get what I needed to get done completed on time.   It didn’t happen often, but something urgent might pop up or I would have one of those weeks where things were stacked on top of each other and would have to hustle to get things ready to go when they needed to go.   I started keeping a monthly “to do” list in association with my calendar and could plan for those hectic times. Now, the reason I bring this up is as a reminder that life can get busy at times, are we prepared for those deadlines?   It might be as simple and routine as hugging our children at the end of the day or as life-changing as the Lord’s Second Coming; but we need to be prepared.   If we simply play things by ear, we are going to end up missing something.   Again, some activities can be done last minute or made up later, but there are some things that we get one s...
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Friday; July 31

If you have spent much time studying the outsides, you have probably heard of John Muir.   The Scottish-born naturalist made a name for himself in the United States – especially in the western part of the country.   There are many aspects of Muir’s life but one that strikes me is his willingness to explore.   He seemed to appreciate this great big wonderful world.   In fact, one of his quotes affirms, “The world's big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”.   As I read that quote the other day, I was struck by it – not just as an encouragement to get off the couch and go hike in the woods – but to challenge me to experience as much as I can about life.   It is easy to sit in the safety of my home, but what am I missing by not exploring?   It is comfortable to read what I like, but what have I missed by not expanding my library?   It is easy to hang out with my closely guarded (and chosen) friends and family, but who have I ...
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Thursday; July 30

I guess I’d never really thought about it, but the other day I learned that it was on July 30, 1956 that a joint resolution of the United States Congress (and signed by President Eisenhower) was enacted making “In God We Trust” the national motto.   Now, if we were to allow it, this observation could generate a lot of debate; but let’s not go there.   Rather, what I would like to do is ask if we really believe it?   Now, I am not all that interested if our nation believes this as much as if we – you and me – believe it.   It is one thing to put it on our money and license plates, but have we engraved it on our hearts?   I don’t care if we can quote it as a national motto, do we live it in our individual lives?   I find it interesting that – in a material world – we put “In God we trust” on our money.   Are we really disciples of the Almighty God or the almighty dollar?   Let’s not get bogged down in debating this motto in our courts, let’s ded...
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