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“What would you do if you wuz the devil?” Aunt Ruth asked.
“I’d retire and sue the movie industry for back pay,” I said.
Aunt Ruth was neither my aunt, nor was she named “Ruth.” Through a series of circumstances I don’t have space to tell, that’s what I wound up calling her. Crusty, funny, frank, and yes – godly – Aunt Ruth had eyes that danced long after her feet no longer could. Today her eyes were dancing.
“I’m serious,” she said. “What would you do?”
“Oh, the usual, I guess. Lust, greed, bitterness. Why are you asking?” (We’d been talking about how blessed we were as a church, and how excited I was about the future.)
“Come on, boy, he’s got more sense than that! Too bad you don’t.” [click to continue…]
This is about endurance.
About playing hurt.
About finishing strong.
This is about starting over. About reinventing yourself, your future, your relationships.
Before there was a Ripkin or a Rocky Balboa (VI), there was Lou Gehrig. The Iron Man played in 2,130 consecutive baseball games. However many seasons that was, Gehrig never missed a game.
Did he ever get hurt, sick, or tired? Yep. But he always showed up at game time.
That’s one of the keys, you know. Just show up.
After Lou retired, he had a physical examination. [click to continue…]
(Forgiveness Laboratories, Inc. – Part 2)
In our last episode, we were left in a place called Forgiveness Laboratories, Inc. where Joe Jacobson, the owner and founder, was explaining some of their findings. And he was about to share something about forgiveness that I had never seen before. If you haven’t read the previous post, I would encourage you to do that first…
Joe said, “Our greatest discovery happened when we combined what we call Formula 432 with Element 118.”
“Sounds very chemical,” I said.
“Aw, just lab talk,” Joe said with a smile. “One of our guys used to be a youth pastor.”
“Say no more,” I said.
“Formula 432 is actually Ephesians 4:32. We learned it as kids in church:
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
“I noticed that on the wall in your lobby,” I said.
“Then you probably also noticed Element 118 on the other wall,” said Joe. It’s from Isaiah 1:18:
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”
“When our researchers combined these two truths, we made a breakthrough discovery about forgiveness.”
“What’s that?” I asked, intrigued. [click to continue…]
Corie, Carrie, Cassie, and Kara on the Charles Bridge in Prague, 2005. All were back together again for Kara's wedding this weekend in Ft. Worth.
1. Yes indeed, a washer and dryer will fit inside a conversion van if you take the middle seats out.
2. Driving said conversion van automatically lowers your driver’s IQ by about 30 points.
3. Apparently I was right at home; Dallas/Ft. Worth was the host to an Idiot Drivers Convention this weekend.
4. If a nighttime idiot driver in DFW makes you mad, it’s probably not a good idea to get behind him and turn on your bright lights.
5. If you make a nighttime idiot driver in DFW mad by turning on your bright lights in his mirror, and he decides to retaliate… for 15 minutes… it’s probably best just to declare him the winner. [click to continue…]
An interesting op-ed headline appeared in The Chicago Tribune a few days ago. It read, “Govern like a leader, not a politician.” The author, Mike Lawrence, proposed that the current financial mess in Illinois would only be solved by politicians who had the courage to do unpopular things (raise taxes, I presume) rather than trying to please people.
Oh… leadership.
Ooh… politics.
Can they ever really coexist? [click to continue…]
Raise those tray tables, buckle that seat belt (that you wouldn’t have known how to do without that handy demonstration), and turn off that portable electronic device! Hanukkah Hams is taking off again.
In case you missed any of the previous editions, a Hannukah Ham is an episode of brilliance in the blooper reel of life – leaving us all to ask… “What were they thinking?”
In celebration of the fact that tomorrow I’ll be enjoying that living enema called commercial airline travel (flying to ‘Bama for a week), this edition of Hanukkah Hams takes you past the ticket agents, through security, by the food court, and into the pressurized metal tube.
The problem, friends, is NOT a shortage of material. [click to continue…]
I owe you an apology.
When I get on a soapbox, I like to warn people ahead of time. And in the last post, I sort of forgot.
That said, (and apology accepted, I hope), it’s important to me that people learn to take the truth of God’s word and apply it to the many facets of their lives. So I thought I would show you how I approach that. In the previous post I shared 12 specific areas of application. Today, as advertised, I want to show you an in-the-raw, unedited example of how I used those 12 areas to apply spiritual truth to my life two days ago.
(Disclaimer: I don’t go into this level of detail every single time I crack open the Bible. But if I want to get the most practical benefit and direction, this is what I do.)
What follows is straight out of my journal. You’ll see a couple of observations from a familiar passage. That’s important, because you can’t apply truth you haven’t yet focused on. Then you’ll see how I applied it.
What is important is not my details, but your process of discovery and application. This is just an example. But for what it’s worth, in the next post I will take what I have applied to my life here and turn it into an article that hopefully applies it to others.
Okay, here goes… [click to continue…]
What are you going to do with the resurrection of Jesus?
Let’s assume for a minute that you actually believe it. That three days after He was crucified, He actually rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
Now what?
I guess you and I have to decide where to file that. We can be part of the 380. Or we can be part of the 120. [click to continue…]
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t walk through “the fire” alone?
Isn’t it interesting that we nevertheless must walk through the fire?
God doesn’t seem to need our advice for how hot the flames should be,
or even where in the natural they come from.
He only asks that, when the pathway leads through them, we keep moving.
And when the flames taunt, we keep trusting.
(Lyrics from “How Firm a Foundation.” Photo credit: AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
(For more stunning photography from the San Bartolome de Pinares in Spain, click here)
Martin Lindstrom has learned what sounds – branded and unbranded – are most likely to turn your head. Or move your heart. Or open your wallet. Hmmm. Suppose the above video may be a hint?
Together with Elias Arts, a sound identity company in New York, Lindstrom’s company, Buyology, Inc. tested 50 volunteers and measured their responses to a wide variety of sounds. He has made a list of the 10 most powerful and addictive sounds.
You can forget waves, rain, or birds.
But if you hear the five tones of the Intel jingle, you are very likely to be drawn to it; it’s the second-most addictive sound in the world right now. Third on the list (and you know that’s right… a cell phone set on vibrate).
To find out what the number one most addictive sound is, as well as the top 10 in both branded and non-branded categories, [click to continue…]
“What would you do if you wuz the devil?” Aunt Ruth asked. 
