no-sex week
For several years, Yale University—an elite institution in the US—allowed students to engage in an annual 7-day sexual frenzy known as Sex Week at Yale. The week included “prominently featured titillating displays, [porn] film stars, and commercial sponsors of such material.” But a campus group called Undergraduates for a Better Yale College rose up and challenged Sex Week, declaring that…
grumble rumble
Grumble Rumble is a website that allows you to air your complaints. It claims: “Our goal is to help you improve your life surroundings and reduce your stress by providing an easy, simple platform to register and resolve complaints.”
If there had been a website like this during Moses’ time, the Israelites would surely have been among its key patrons.…
fair wages
That’s not fair. Why did she get a raise and I didn’t? I do just as much work as she does!” “Why was he chosen to lead the project when I’ve been here longer?”
I should get what I deserve is a work ethic that many of us live by. So we easily identify with the first-called workers in the parable…
sweet speech
"She said, ‘I hope you won’t be in my class next year.’ ” One evening during dinner with my kids, I was surprised when my 9-year-old randomly shared an incident that had taken place at school. Being a curious child, he had been playing with a door lock while waiting in line for lunch when a teacher—in an attempt to…
unaware
Chuck Colson tells the story of Ron Greer, an ex-convict who was rehabilitated through Colson’s Prison Fellowship ministry. Greer, who became a pastor after serving his time, was once interrupted by a group of gay activists as he was conducting a church service. The activists were disrespectful and disruptive. They shouted obscenities and urinated on the restroom floors. They even went…
working hard
My dad is a hard-working man. He works 6 days a week. During his off-days, he’s always tinkering with something in the house—fixing the fan or cleaning something. Colleagues of mine who also know my dad have remarked that being industrious is a trait that runs in my family. Is diligence an inborn trait— are some people born lazy while…
why do we burn out?
Burned out? Exhausted? Needing work breaks more and more often? Perhaps these are signs that you really needed a sabbatical, or a getaway. More so, it’s a gentle prompting that true ministry begins with true receiving.
I am currently reading through a wonderful book on spiritual formation titled Deep-rooted in Christ by a Korean-American pastor named Joshua Choonmin Kang. Translated from…
give up
Wildlife officials in my town tried in vain to save a duck that had an arrow sticking through its breast. She flew away whenever their nets came close. It’s hard to blame the frightened fowl. She didn’t understand that the same self-reliance that normally kept her alive was now preventing her from receiving the help she needed.
We are that…
burden dump
This week has been and will continue to be a week of dumping burdens.
I know what I am supposed to do with these burdens. And even though I rest on one day and lay them down at my Saviors feet and cast them on His strong shoulders, I will catch myself running to them and picking them back up…
revealed
My list of projects to accomplish this weekend is somewhere near the level of insanity. As a teacher, I thrive on learning new things and finding innovative ways to communicate ideas to my students. So I have this nasty habit of creating projects for myself. Most times, I live somewhere on the continuum between order and chaos. Unfortunately, life doesn’t…
google and grace
"For the Internet that brings connection has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘Yes’ to YouTube and Facebook, and to live me-controlled, self-indulgent and quick-fix lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed ‘beep’—the glorious appearing of our friend on MSN.”
When a friend created this quote, by replacing some words in the NIV…
say "L" for love
Most moms scold their kids for sticking their tongues out, but not me. I encouraged my son to do this when I was teaching him how to pronounce the letter “L.” Like many toddlers, every time he tried to make the “L” sound, it came out sounding like a “W.” Although my heart melted every time he said, “I wuv…
principled
Teaching in a Christian preparatory school, I am accustomed to including an “honor code” on each quiz and test that my students take. Because they live in a world of moral relativism, some students are accustomed to signing on the line even when they’ve cheated. Recently I had to turn a student in for cheating, and as I watched the…
curses and conflicts
Conflicts. I haven’t found anyone who truly enjoys them. I, for one, will do anything possible to avoid conflicts. For I desire and strive to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14). Genesis 3:15 is about hostility and animosity. In this verse, God declares that He will cause enmity between Satan and Eve. Why would God deliberately create…
age of grace
The world’s oldest person, a 115-year-old American woman named Gertrude Baines, died in September 2009. According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), the leading authority on “supercentenarians,” the world’s oldest living person now is Kama Chinen, a 114-year-old Japanese woman. The oldest verified person in history was Jeanne Calment who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and…
