My kids and I were outside together one evening when suddenly we heard the familiar jingle that told us that the box-shaped vehicle containing frozen treats was in our neighborhood for the first time of the year. The kids were excited and were already describing which one they would soon choose and picturing themselves taking the first bite. There was all the potential in the world to have a fun...
Stewardship of all resources is important. Some are easier to identify, such as money and time. But one area that often gets overlooked is our emotions. These also need to be handled with care, which leads to the question: What does it look like to steward our emotions? The goal is to have the right emotional response to each situation. If I rate my anger, sadness, shame or other feeling on...
I’ve heard it said many times that bitterness is like drinking poison convinced that it’s going to kill the other person. It’s such a good analogy that contains a very powerful truth. When we are persistent in holding onto an offense, it will eventually lead to the death of the relationship. It most likely won’t happen right away. Instead, it will commence slowly over time. So gradual that you...
Do you believe that you are created in God’s image? Do you believe that others are also created in that image? I believe that God created all human beings with unique potential to bring God glory and to further the mission that Jesus started. That is a really easy thing to believe and hold onto when everything is going well. It’s easy to love people that we like and get along with. And it is easy...
Have you ever felt the urge to quit? Maybe it was a job, a sport, or another role in life. Sometimes things can be so difficult and discouraging that the temptation to just light a match and walk away becomes very real. In those moments, the thought is that this course of action will somehow solve everything. It’s not true though. The truth of the matter is that track leads to a path of...
No one likes to feel like they are being sold something. Whether it’s a car, a household appliance, or an insurance policy, we can sense when someone is trying to get us to buy into their idea or product. For many years I have thought this way when it comes to sharing Jesus with other people. I was so concerned about feeling pushy that the end result became really not talking about Him at all...
Jesus’ last words to His closest group of followers were to ‘make disciples.’ He didn’t give them a long list of things to accomplish that might keep them from the most important task. He knew that distraction would have a cost. Over the course of the last couple of years I have had a number of conversations with people from all over who are coming to the same conclusion that we, the church, have...
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the connection between what you know in your head and what you do. More specifically how those two are connected and interrelated to one another. For years I have tried many different routines, methods, techniques to help implement newly discovered habits and patterns. However, they all tend to ‘work’ for a short while and then fizzle out. The question then...
In the past couple of weeks I have found great encouragement and strength in learning from men and women of faith that have persevered through various trials and adversity and have come out on the other side. Some of them are still living while others have gone on to be with the Lord. One of those saints is Hudson Taylor, the man most known for founding the China Inland Mission. Growing up in...
There are a lot of voices out there right now. As we all seek to navigate through life in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone seems to have an idea of what is really going on and what we need to do in response. It should always be important for us to be confident in the source behind the truth we live by, but in times like this we become so much more aware of the implications of our...