“The only way this works is if I see with my heart.” We were talking about knowing God’s plan when this gem stopped the discussion. I asked him to elaborate. “I’ve always thought it wasn’t real unless I could evaluate it, touch it, taste, smell, hear, or see it. But now I believe the only […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
A Time To Rest
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (Ecclesiastes 3:1) I think we tend to fight the seasons of life. We want to sow at harvest time and speak when we ought to be silent. It’s about our desire to be in control, which is rooted in fear. We’re […]
Continue readingCulture
HAPPY MONDAY! The eve of a big project has me thinking a lot about today’s word-of-the-week… CULTURE I’ve envisioned for months how I want our team to operate. But all the vision in the world won’t matter if we don’t establish the proper culture. Culture is everything. Culture matters more than vision. Culture is vision […]
Continue readingWhat Motivates You May Be Harming You
If we’re truly honest, I suspect fear motivates many of our actions and choices. I remember some of my best students coming to exams bleary-eyed from late-light cram sessions. “Why did you lose sleep over this test? You know the material.” “Yeah, but I’m afraid I’ll forget something.” Afraid I’ll forget a detail on an […]
Continue readingWhy Are THOSE PEOPLE So Difficult?
I used to joke that a school would be a great place to work if it weren’t for all those pesky kids. Same thing’s true of serving in communities—it would be easy, if it weren’t for all those messed-up people. The problem is that God seems to like using messed-up people to accomplish His work. […]
Continue readingWe’re Blessed To Be A Blessing
We’re surrounded by an incredible circle of support. You don’t do something like FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR or RICH’S RIDE on your own. Those things happen in communities, and occasionally I shake my head in amazement at the power of a community to follow and accomplish big dreams. Every big endeavor has corporate sponsors. Those […]
Continue readingWhat If You’re Not In The In Crowd?
Jesus stopped at a well to speak to a Samaritan woman. (John 4) He shouldn’t have associated with someone like her. She was a Samaritan, a woman, and woman with a sordid past. No Jewish rabbi would be seen speaking to her. She was an outcast. The woman herself recognized the inappropriate nature of the […]
Continue readingWhat If You’re On A Mission?
What if God had something in mind when He created you? What if He gave you specific gifts, stuff you enjoyed and were good at? Don’t you think using those gifts would be a big part of what you were made to do? What if you could figure out what you were made to do, […]
Continue readingOutcast
HAPPY MONDAY! A personal weakness got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week… OUTCAST Jesus hung out with outcasts, right? We all know it’s true, and we all believe it’s a noble idea—for someone else. But if I’m honest, I don’t want to hang around with the homeless, the developmentally disabled, the poor, the addicts, the abused… […]
Continue readingEver Get The Urge To Complain?
I sent an email yesterday that put some things in perspective. I wrote to two American missionaries. As I proofed my message I realized the danger they encounter in tasks I take for granted. I wonder about the remote possibility of identity theft if my personal details end up in the wrong hands on the […]
Continue readingWhat’s Your Story?
Becky and I discovered this week that lots of people don’t “get” what we’re doing. That’s a little frustrating. When you’re in the middle of something and you’re passionate about it, it’s hard to imagine how any rational being can’t understand every nuance of our project. Obviously, they’re not listening. And then I recall something […]
Continue readingWhy Do We Remember?
Yesterday I wrote about memorials. I referenced a special memorial, a pile of stones God told the people to leave at the place they entered the Promised Land. “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark […]
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