learning from each other
Our young daughter Katelyn enjoys playing solitaire, but she lacks the patience to persist through the difficult points in the game. Instead of trying to solve being “stuck,” she’ll simply start a new game. I’ve challenged her not to give up but to seek the next available move.
at work
A group of us were sharing dinner and then we gave testimonies about a God who loves His people enough to speak His dreams into their hearts. We heard of an apartment complex for single mothers. A wedding barn and a Christian campground. A new local church being established. Common to all was the desire that God’s name would be made great through each respective leap of faith.
fixed
I love excellence and I even battle against perfectionism from time to time. But there are times I find speed more desirable than precision. As evidence, behind every picture on my walls is a cluster of tiny pinholes. It’s no wonder that the occasional picture falls from its place. After all, I can’t expect much from a technique that relies on a hairbrush in lieu of a hammer, and a good eye instead of a tape measure. My attempts simply seemed faster than measured accuracy.
the waiting game
In 2006, Trevor Thompson surveyed 1,003 adults and determined the following: While waiting in line at an office or store, most people take an average of 17 minutes to lose their cool. When placed on hold during a phone call, most people lose their patience in 9 minutes. Women lose their patience after waiting in line for about 18 minutes. Men lose it after 15 minutes. People with a college education and a higher income lose their patience quicker than those with lower income less and education.
shrinking faith
In Indonesia, scientists have located remains of an ancient people that may have—over the years—shrunk due to what they call “island dwarfism.” The researchers have used the name hobbit to identify the remains. Though hobbits are fictitious creatures, we’re naturally curious about what might cause humans to grow smaller.
finishing well
Finishing well. It’s an idea we typically reserve for those approaching the last few years of life. But as a wise, older man (now with Jesus) once pointed out to me, finishing well is not simply for the elderly. In fact, it’s the choices we make now—years before we say our final “goodbyes”—that will help determine how we complete our years on earth.
restoration
After some knee surgery, I was unprepared for the level of physical therapy required to restore my range of motion. According to my physical therapist, the surgical procedure had caused trauma to my leg, and my muscles had shut down. Years of physical movement had been undone in 20 minutes. But I had to commit to the process of healing. Some days were tedious, some were downright painful. But the choice was clear: I would either have to push through the hurt to find healing, or I could avoid it and remain disabled.
you choose Q: should i keep praying?
Q: I pray for people at my church. How long is too long to continue praying for someone? If you constantly feel the need is it okay to continue? —Donna
A: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for,” Jesus promised in Matthew 7:7. Knowing that we lack endurance and can be easily distracted and often discouraged, Jesus…
strong as an ant
Thirty-five years ago, Thomas Daigle and his wife signed a home loan. On the way out of the bank, he found a penny on the ground. On a lark, they said they should save pennies to pay off their loan. Decades later, they had amassed 62,000 pennies. They hauled the accumulated coins to a bank teller to finish off their mortgage’s balance. It took bank employees 2 days to count the coins, but the Daigles’ mortgage was no more.
not leaving
I am just 3 months into my elected role as youth deaconess in the local church that I attend, and I’ve already received three requests from people who want to step down from serving. A few have simply gone MIA (missing in action). So I feel like a general who’s trying to rally his army to fight a battle even as he’s losing his soldiers.
five words
A 2012 survey of US Millennials—ages 18 to 24— uncovered an interesting trend. The study, led by the Public Religion Research Institute, revealed that one in four young adults chose “unaffiliated” for their religious commitment. But 55 percent of that group had “identified with a religious group” when they were younger. They had simply walked away from the faith they once embraced.
don’t stop
He was alone for most of his ministry. It seemed that no one cared to hear his words. He was dragged off against his will to live his final days in exile. He was a failure as far as how the world judges human achievement. Jeremiah (alias “the weeping prophet”) was his name.
victorious faith
Tukutana, the nonprofit organization I direct in East Africa, is funding the education of a young lady named Acayo Sarah. She survived one of Africa’s longest-running wars in history, but not without wounds. When Sarah was just 13 years old, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rebels attacked her village in northern Uganda. After killing her mother and father in front of her, the ruthless men abducted, raped, and impregnated Sarah. Just before her baby was born, Sarah managed to escape from her captors and fled to her uncle’s village.
was i there?
I’ve never experienced what it means to be opposed or persecuted for my religious beliefs. Without a doubt, I’m thankful that I live in a country where there’s both freedom and safety to practice my faith. Yet, in more than 50 countries around the world, no less than 200 million Christians are vigorously opposed and ruthlessly persecuted. Many thousands have died horrible deaths, simply because they loved Jesus.
sacred flames
In November 2011, Mike and Nancy Rogers were married as the lodge in which they were supposed to be wed burned to the ground behind them. The blaze destroyed the beautiful building—including a kitchen, conference center, pool, and guesthouses—as the wedding party retreated to another building for the ceremony. The wedding gifts and flowers were destroyed, but Nancy said, “We lost all that stuff, but that’s not important to us. We got the most important things.”
