Is Jesus an optimist? How about His followers? I’ve been writing this week about optimism. I created A Reluctant Optimist’s Code in an attempt to counteract my natural inclination to perceive that The Half Empty Glass Is Leaking. Today I’m wondering what the Bible says about my half-baked ideas. Since I just posted my list […]
Continue readingA Reluctant Optimist’s Code
Is faith optimistic or pessimistic? I’ve admitted that optimism isn’t my default approach to most situations. Relentless Grace certainly tells of a tug of war between intellectual faith and gut-level despair. As I said in Tuesday’s post, I naturally default to a feeling that The Half Empty Glass Is Leaking. Jesus’ teaching tells me something different. Many […]
Continue reading100 Significant Scriptures
This is easily the longest article I’ve ever posted. Check out the next few sentences and you’ll see why. A while back someone asked me to define my “life verse.” I suppose if I HAD to choose a single passage I’d pick Romans 8:28. And we know that in all things God works for the […]
Continue readingThe Half Empty Glass Is Leaking
Do you consider yourself an optimist? Why (or why not)? I’m doing a talk this week for an Optimist Club, so I’m thinking about optimism. I did a little research to find out what optimism is, where it originates, why some folks have it and some don’t. Frankly, for much of my life I was […]
Continue readingSacrifice
Happy Monday! Today’s a special day for all who embrace peace, justice and nonviolence. In honor of Dr. King, let’s think about today’s word-of-the-week…. Sacrifice August 28, 1963. More than a quarter-million people crowded onto the national mall in Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped to the podium, introduced as “the moral leader […]
Continue readingNot A Coincidence
Happy Saturday! A former student once told me that old math teachers never die…they just lose count. My students never could equal my sense of humor. This quick video (thanks to Kit Mulligan for sharing) shows a bit of the beautiful symmetry in mathematics that leads to a not-so-surprising conclusion. Please consider passing this along […]
Continue readingWhole Hearts
Do you think you live whole heartedly? God must want me thinking about how we connect to each other. Seems like everywhere I look during the past few days I encounter the issue of vulnerability. Vulnerability—the willingness to permit others to see us as we really are. It’s the key to human connections, and it’s […]
Continue readingConnections With Roots
Are you making an impact? Maybe it’s the new year, but I’ve been thinking about the impact of the things I’m doing. Mostly I just roll along (pun intended), but occasionally it’s good to stop and ask if what I do makes any difference. It seems that so much of the culture is about appearances, what […]
Continue readingWhy Read The Bible?
Note: This is the second in a Wednesday series about the Bible. You can check out the first article (The Bible Is About…) if you missed it. Why do you read the Bible? I suppose answers vary with individual needs and life’s seasons. At different moments we seek knowledge, inspiration, encouragement, comfort, and guidance. When […]
Continue readingReflection On Tucson
Do you ever wonder how God sees you? Sometimes I wonder how, or why, God would care about me. I understand the psalmist’s question: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human […]
Continue readingBlues
Happy Monday! Today I’m trying to put an uplifting spin on a difficult word-of-the-week… Blues Do you ever get “the blues”? I got a sudden attack of the winter blues last week. I just slipped into a funk where everything got a little foggy and overwhelming. The worst symptom is low energy, a sense that […]
Continue readingLife And The Choices We Make
Happy Saturday! It’s no secret that there’s a lot that’s wrong with big-time sports. This nine-minute video proves that, beneath the negative headlines, there’s a lot that’s right as well. D.J. Williams shares a story of courage that demonstrates his conviction that life is about the choices we make. I hope you’re as inspired as […]
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