Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. Proverbs 23:9 I was thinking about how often I’ve been frustrated with God for not giving me a direct answer to a question, not being keen on waiting. I would process those times by thinking He was being silent about it. As I read this proverb and reflect back over the…

He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Matthew 4:22 “He who hesitates is lost.” Oxford Dictionary categorizes this as a proverb and defines it this way: Delay or vacillation may have unfortunate or disastrous consequences. A good Biblical equivalent might be these words from Proverbs 1: For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them. For many…

Today I’m contemplating cycles of behavior and what it is each person within that cycle holds to in order to keep the cycle… cycling :/ – and because my mind explodes with tangent thoughts, I jettisoned back to this post from the Day One Archive. While God is most certainly a God of order, the “cycles” He creates always and only serves His purposes to advance wholeness, life, and purposefulness.…

Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him ENDURED the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:2 When you are certain about why you’re doing what you’re doing, the ability to ENDURE becomes a little more attainable. Jesus knew what was at stake as He moved toward the cross and…

We use New Year’s Day as an opportunity to take stock. We give ourselves permission to think and feel, and to contemplate the bits of our lives. That’s fairly remarkable in a society driven to live at light-speed. It seems most of us resolve, not to necessarily embark on new endeavors as much as to apply a fresh application of ourselves to what already is. Where I have lost view…

There is no more thorough, compelling rendering of the breadth of the beauty of Jesus, than that found in John’s first chapter. So comprehensive is this passage… painting Jesus in the most vivid colors: He is from the beginning, Eternal He is the Word He is God He made everything that is Life is in Him That life is the light of men Darkness cannot put it out Jesus was coming…

The Lord is faithful in ALL His words righteous in ALL His ways kind in ALL His works ~ Psalm 145:13,17 ~ ~ This beautiful truth found in Psalm 145 has been especially meaningful of late. Life is hard these days… very hard. I’m not the only one I know clinging to Jesus like never before. It’s difficult to find evidence of kindness when you are suffering, or someone you…

So many of my peers are experiencing the loss of their parents. I still have the gift of having both my mother and father here. My friends, without exception, remark that you cannot be prepared for the depth of the loss. You think you are, and you aren’t. Each time I hear that someone has passed on, I’m reminded afresh, the invaluable gift that grief is. God invented it. He knows…

What’s going on in my thoughts and how is that affecting the way I respond to my life? For several months this question has been on the front burner as a handful of resources have come my way. From James McDonald: Think Differently (video series) From Marita Littauer: Wired That Way (book & personality profile test) From Pricilla Shirer: The Armor of God (bible study) I solicited none of these,…

respect – the condition of being esteemed or honored I’ve been thinking about my ability to offer respect to another person. I’m reminded that our culture puts a premium on productivity, on a person’s willingness and ability to “put out” something substantive with their time, talents, and initiative. Not surprisingly then, my criteria for offering respect is attached to that cultural value. I might say, “Do something worthy of respect…

Part of the Christmas story tells of the man and young woman God called to be the parents of Jesus. They were each rich in Godly character, entering an adventure that would take them where no other humans would ever be asked to go. They played supporting yet crucial roles in the life of Jesus, fulfilling those roles with integrity. As my thoughts turn toward the impending year, I’m already…