I wonder a lot about the connection between Jesus’ birth and saving money–otherwise known as the “Holiday Sale.” I’m not sure how such incongruous notions became so tightly linked, but I suppose there’s not much I can do about it. Check out my response in this special edition of Rich’s Semi-Regular Newsletter. This week I’m […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
Teaching Me
When we are young or immature, right theology makes us feel superior, but when we are older and more mature, a study of theology makes us feel inferior and unworthy, undeserved, and grateful. Don Miller Do you ever think about the life-changing lessons you learned as a kid? I’m not talking about words and facts […]
Continue readingAbundance
Happy Monday. Around here we’ve got our first snow on the ground—time to get the winter tires on the wheelchair. This edition of word-of-the-week has me thinking about… ABUNDANCE Abundance is an attitude, and it doesn’t come easily or naturally to me. I grew up in a home of scarcity. Our scarcity wasn’t material—it was […]
Continue readingSimple Joy–A Video
This week’s been about SIMPLE. We’ve looked at these topics if you want to catch up: Eyes On The Prize How To Stop Bullying Become Like Children Simple What’s simpler than a boy and his dog? This video captures a big part of what I’m trying to say. The dog looks and behaves very much like Monte, and […]
Continue readingEyes On The Prize
Have you ever seen the sport of curling? Curling, like most games, incorporates complex strategies and techniques, but the basic idea is pretty simple. The object, like other similar games (Crokinole and Shuffleboard), is to score points by getting your team’s markers closer to the target. These games typically involve three main tactics: Slide your […]
Continue readingHow To Stop Bullying
You can’t. You can’t decide how other people think or act. Do you agree? I’m working on some stuff for a group of kids who asked me to talk to them about leadership. Their question: “We’re supposed to be leaders. How can we stop bullying behavior in school?” My honest answer, sadly, is that they […]
Continue readingBecome Like Children
What does it mean to follow Jesus? Personally, I think I make it harder than He intended. This week I’m thinking about simple. I have a nagging feeling that we make a lot of things harder than they need to be. I don’t want to ignore life’s harsh realities, but I’d like to see if […]
Continue readingSimple
Happy Monday! I hope your week’s off to a great start. Maybe I can help a bit with today’s word-of-the-week… Simple Do you ever feel like you make things harder than necessary? I’ve written about this before (Complex Simplicity) but I want to revisit it this week. Life is complex. No doubt that there are […]
Continue readingExpanding Horizons
Happy Saturday! In my last newsletter I mentioned that I regularly read a number of blogs. Readers responded with some good questions, and I thought I’d answer one of them: “How do you find good, interesting stuff?” Mostly it’s a process of referral. Whenever a writer I trust mentions another blog, I check it out. […]
Continue readingWeapons Of Mass Transformation
Have you ever read a passage of scripture that seemed to smack you right between the eyes? Last night our small group encountered these verses. As they were read aloud I literally rolled my chair backward and said something profound like, “Huh.” For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as […]
Continue readingIt’s All In Your Head
Has anyone ever told you “it’s all in your head?” Do you think it’s true? I was working outside yesterday, enjoying a wonderful late-Autumn day. A man approached on the sidewalk, towing his little boy in a wagon. Dad stared straight ahead, and I could hear him talking. As they passed I could see the […]
Continue readingWho’s In First?
Do you ever sense that the more you know the less you know? Perhaps, at least for me, a more accurate assessment would be “the more I know the less I learn.” Reconciled? Some time ago I read a discussion of Second Corinthians (don’t recall exactly where) that ended with a confusing, and somewhat accusatory, […]
Continue reading