Do you ever feel like you just don’t belong? Here’s some potentially shocking news: you don’t. You and I are strangers in a strange land. We live in enemy-occupied territory. It won’t always be that way—the rightful leader will be back one day. But what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Christians seem […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Damage Your Relationship With God
What are your keys for building—or destroying—your relationships? I ran across a list the other day, one psychologist’s list of relationship killers. No groundbreaking information, but it got me thinking about my relationship with Jesus. It’s clear that relationship is God’s primary intention. Jesus’ central mission was to restore open, transparent interactions with God, others, […]
Continue readingMore TagHere, There, And Stuff That Matters
Does it really matter? I ask myself that question a lot. What’s “it”? Whatever I’m doing that’s consuming my time and attention. I’m all in favor of relaxing and having fun, but I want my life to be about stuff that matters. So—how do I decide? How do I know if “it” really matters? Last […]
Continue readingMore TagLust
Happy Monday—the second week of the last quarter of 2010. Today’s word-of-the-week is sort of strange, because I’ve been thinking about… LUST My small group is studying the book of Esther—last week we read Esther 2:1-18, which is all about appetites run amok. We tend to associate lust with sexuality, but it’s really broader than […]
Continue readingMore TagReally Healed
I usually reserve Saturday for sharing something inspirational from another source, but today you’re stuck with more of me. Sorry. This clip from my recent retreat traces a reflection on the opening verses of Mark 2. Please forgive the very informal video quality. If you’d like to know more about bringing this workshop to your […]
Continue readingMore TagWho’s In Charge?
Who’s in control? Ultimately, of course, God is in control. But what if we narrow the scope a bit? If I think about myself and my own reactions or responses, who’s in control? I asked that question earlier this week in a group of eighth grade boys. How do you think they answered? I worked […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat’s The Value Of Stuff That Matters?
How do you decide what really matters? How do you balance what’s fun, interesting, or rewarding with what matters? I know about the platitudes—what matters to me is what matters to God. That’s true enough, I suppose, but it doesn’t always help me know if what I’m doing right now is work that’s worthy of […]
Continue readingMore TagSemi-Regular Newsletter 10.6.10
Here’s a link to the 3/4 edition of Rich’s Semi-Regular Newsletter. Thanks for all of your continued support.
Continue readingMore TagGasoline, Money, And Stuff That Matters
Do you have a good working definition of “what matters” to you? I like to think and write in terms of metaphors and analogies. I heard a comparison a while back that helped me think about money in my own hierarchy of what really matters. In life’s journey, money is like gasoline for a car. You have […]
Continue readingMore TagFoolish
Welcome to Monday and a whimsical word-of-the-week. This week I’m thinking about … FOOLISH Last Saturday I shared a talk by Steve Jobs (Stay Foolish). I’ve been thinking a lot about this simple advice. Sometimes I think I take everything—especially myself—a little too seriously. When this happens I lose track of what’s really important and […]
Continue readingMore TagStay Foolish
Steve Jobs is a pratty amazing guy. In this video he tells three powerful stories to graduates at Stanford University. I encourage you to leave a comment and tell us your favorite line from the speech. If you can’t see the video, click here to watch it on my site. Have a great weekend!
Continue readingMore TagUnspoken Expectations …
…get me in a lot of trouble. I got disappointed this week. Disclaimer: I’m only telling this story because I think it contains some valuable lessons. The details don’t matter—this is about my personal failure, nothing else. # # # # # A couple of years ago I was invited to be a very small […]
Continue readingMore Tag