search for significance
I have to admit, with some shame, that I’ve Googled my own name. I know, I know—it’s immature and narcissistic. I think I—and others like me—do this because we want some living proof that we’re significant and important in some way.
true identity
Peter Chiarelli, a 4-star general and the second highest-ranking US Army officer, attended a Washington, DC, dinner last year. Valerie Jarrett, a presidential adviser, was seated at a table when Chiarelli passed behind her. Chiarelli’s uniform had a stripe down the side of the pants, almost identical to the wait staff’s uniform. Seeing only his striped pants, Valerie asked General Chiarelli for a beverage. Without skipping a beat, the general picked up Jarrett’s order and brought it to her. She was mortified at her mistake, but Chiarelli brushed the mishap off. He even invited her to join his family for dinner at his home.
you choose Q: how do I deal with job loss?
Q: There are many people who are looking for a job and are frustrated with the way our economy has changed in the past few years. What is some Bible-based advice for these situations? —Gerald
A: Many people are struggling to make sense of today’s transitional work world. Any time there is a change in an organization—new leadership, merger, acquisition, downturn…
who are you?
Who are you?” boomed front man Roger Daltrey of The Who, channeling guitarist Pete Townshend’s angry lyrics. The 1978 song has attained iconic status, perhaps because it resonates with so many of us. Deep down, we really don’t care what we are. The real question is who we are.
who are you?
Charles Taylor has a big ego. The former president of Liberia once attended an African conference in full combat gear, riding into town as his armed bodyguards jogged alongside his car. When he was accused of being a gunrunner and diamond smuggler, Taylor shamelessly addressed his people clothed in angelic white. But Taylor’s atrocities finally caught up with him and…
can't fly
I was doing some spring cleaning and found an old journal from 8 years ago . . .
" . . . took the trash out behind the wooden fence and into the alley. Looked up to see an umbrella going back and forth along the fence line. Heard a loud thud and the sound of metal hitting pavement. Opened…
glorious mess
In 1998, Dr. Larry Crabb wrote the book Inside Out. The book encourages Christians to stop pretending they have it all together and to be honest about what’s going on in their hearts. As they do so, Crabb reveals, God can free them up to become more of who they were meant to be.
After the book was published, Larry…
no benchwarmers
I always felt a little sad for the guys on my high school basketball team who were put into a game during the waning seconds when the outcome was already decided. I was glad to see them finally get a chance to play, especially if we were winning, but it always seemed a bit nominal.
Unfortunately, nominal is how more than…
who you are
A confused, middle-aged man flagged down a bus driver in Seattle. He wore expensive clothes and spoke French, German, and English, but he did not know who he was. He remembered slices of his life: living in Slovakia, teaching English in China, and last night’s sleep in Discovery Park, but he could not remember his own name.
The authorities researched…
so we may live
"We decided we had to move or freeze to death.” Eleven-year old Norman Ollestad uttered these harrowing words to a newspaper reporter soon after being rescued in the San Gabriel Mountains. The small Cessna plane he had been traveling in had smashed into one of the range’s jagged peaks. Norman was the lone survivor—his dad and the pilot died immediately,…
learning to be content
For nearly a year, I was disturbed by a passage in Philippians in which the apostle Paul claims to possess unwavering contentment. “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have,” Paul said, adding, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is…
the joy in (not) being God
In her novel Gilead, author Marilynne Robinson lets us in on the letter an aged Anglican priest named John Ames writes to his young son. The entire narrative is actually one long—almost rambling—letter. Married in his sixties to a much younger woman, Ames finds himself in poor health and realizes he will soon be dead. As the letter’s pages turn,…
religious heels
The language student impressed the instructor with her academic diligence. But when the class went on a field trip for some cultural training, he didn’t even recognize her. The reason? In class, she concealed 6-inch heels beneath her pants. In her comfortable walking boots, she didn’t even reach 5 feet tall. “My heels are how I want to be,” she…
loss and found
It’s likely that several people you know have been laid off this year. Recently I learned that another good friend had lost his job. This would be bad news for anyone, but it was especially brutal for my friend because his wife’s position had been eliminated just a month before!
King David knew what it felt like to lose his…
what's in a name?
"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” mused Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
It’s evident that Juliet was not Hebrew. For the people of ancient Israel felt that the meaning behind a person’s name was vitally important. Parents carefully chose a name based on the personality, characteristics, or character…
