Monday; February 3

Living as close as we do to the location of last week’s tragic air crash it was almost a foregone conclusion that our community would be impacted by the tragedy – and it was.  Our community lost friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors.  While we are not alone in our loss – honesty, this type of event has an impact on our whole nation – it did hit close to home.  As we reflect on last week’s events, there are a couple of observations I like to make.  

First, if you are grieving, please accept our condolences.  We pray that you will be comforted and we extend an offer that if there is anything we can do to help soften this horrific blow we are willing to help in whatever way we can. 

Second, while we cannot undo the terrible impact of what happened, we can use this as a reminder to fill each day with all the joy, hope and richness that can be packed into it.  We never now what lays ahead for us so we should purposefully live each day, each hour and each moment.  Let’s not leave anything undone nor waste a moment of time the Lord has given us.  The early church leader wrote (and last week’s events highlight) this simple but sobering fact, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14).  Our prayer is that the Lord will bless us with more time – but let’s make it our conviction to fill the time we do have with meaning. 

Think About It!  (And remember, we will be thinking about you!)


Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke...
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements...
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app...
Read more