Tag: faith
Unexpected Back to School trauma
PREPARATION It’s back to school time in America. The focus is on formal, institutional, classroom-based schooling. The curriculum has scope and sequence and the teachers have lesson plans. Regardless of teaching technique or curriculum design, the measure of success is always, “Do the students learn: do they acquire new knowledge, master new skills, and develop [...]
Personal questions looking for answers
Let’s build a list Sometimes the best answers are waiting for that one really good question. Marcandangel.com provided the original inspiration. I have modified and edited. Now it’s up to you. Good questions are far more valuable than good answers; good questions lead us up to, and beyond, wonder and wisdom: How old would [...]
Look for life surrounded by death
PREPARATION We were in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Lyn and I were talking to one of the employees at the Glenwood Caverns. He was an engaging engineering student from the University of Colorado at Boulder, who thoroughly enjoyed his summer job as a cave tour guide. He relished telling the stories connected to the cave, making [...]
X Marks the Spot
PREPARATION I like those large backlit maps in malls and airports that show all the shops and services of the place. The map has no idea where you want to go, but it does know exactly where you are. If you are looking at the map, “You are Here,” That said, I have often longed [...]
Is American faith frozen in time?
PREPARATION One of the great serendipities of grandparenthood is meandering conversations with grandkids. Our annual cousin camp, a few days when we host all our grandkids, is a little over a week away. During these times, we have what seems like non-stop talks, and I am reminded that there is a vast difference between being [...]
Memorial Day 2011
PREPARATION In 2006 I walked barefoot on the sands of Normandy. I stood alone on that awe-inspiring beach. In the gentle sounds of the waves, I could hear the cries of sacrifice and death. More than 130,000 troops were crammed onto 1,000 transport ships. None of them wanted to die that morning, but over 4,000 [...]
He throws a great party!
PREPARATION There is always more… the Good Book says God prepares a table for us in the presence of your enemies. We will always have enemies that attempt to rob us, to threaten us, to reject us, and keep us from enjoying life as God intended. Have you noticed, God doesn’t remove us from danger, [...]
Help kids take God seriously
Questions that encourage personalized faith It’s fairly simple to get children to repeat spiritual words and even learn complex spiritual information, but helping them develop an owned, personal, and growing faith is much more complicated. Hear this: When it comes to Faith Shaping, the most powerful tool in your toolbox is not information or lecture; [...]
Faith needs a human connection
PREPARATION Our faith journey begins with a small cry of belief, “I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I claim HIM as my Savior and Lord.” But genuine faith cannot stay locked inside a simple “confession” statement; it has to find release, expression, experience, or it dies. This statement of faith introduces us to [...]
Can this happen today?
PREPARATION There were three reasons for my condition: scheduled construction work on the new freeway interchange, the newly reduced speed limit through construction, and a stalled 2006, black, Honda Pilot. I wished it was different. I wished for wings to fly around and over the problem, but as I was told early in life, “wishes [...]
Zoom lens on life
PREPARATION My favorite camera lens is a 100-400mm zoom; with it I can get close-up shots without actually being close-up. This up-close viewpoint allows me to see things that are hidden and missed by most. So each trip becomes a treasure hunt, sometimes the treasure is breathtaking and inspiring and at other times it’s dismal [...]
16 proven faith shaping ideas for parents
Leaving fingerprints for God Parents and pastors are in a perpetual search for the magic strategy, or a proven formula, for instilling faith in the heart’s of the next generation. That search is frustrating and futile. Faith is not instilled by magic words, faith classes, or a special sermon series. The birth of faith is [...]
Freedom: What’s it good for?
PREPARATION Freedom is such a powerful word. It invades life at so many levels. In the last few days we have seen it invade Egypt and Libya on a national level (One man cried out, “We are martyrs for freedom”). But freedom is not just a quest for victory over tyranny. Political freedom is not [...]
10 Things to Do with Elevator Time: Plus 1
PREPARATION OK, just for fun, I have 10 off-the-wall suggestions for your next elevator ride: Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: “Got enough air in there?” Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a [...]
What’s Next?
PREPARATION At the end of the movie Matrix Revolutions, Agent Smith stands above a beaten Neo and wonders aloud why his adversary continues to get up just to be beaten down: “Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you’re fighting for something? For more than [...]
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