Before he was a writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky was arrested by the czar of Russia and sentenced to death by firing squad. Leading up to the day of his execution, Dostoevsky became acutely aware of the gift of life. He savoured every moment, every meal, every memory. He knew he had only so long to enjoy … Continue reading Surviving a firing squad
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But you shouldn’t get more cranky
In a prophecy about the Messiah’s birth, Isaiah said that Jesus would not only be called “Prince of Peace,” but “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). But rarely do we think of Jesus as a counselor. Maybe that’s because we (a) don’t pay him to listen to us, and (b) can’t picture him with a leather couch. … Continue reading But you shouldn’t get more cranky
A step backward to move forward
Recently I was playing catch with my 6-year-old son. He’s been getting better and better. So we’ve gotten into the habit of backing up further and further away from each other so that it’s more of a challenge. But we hadn’t played catch in a while. So when we resumed our usual far-away positions, he … Continue reading A step backward to move forward
God’s got this
“Faith” is a word that is easy to throw around. “Journey of faith,” “Faith in God,” “Have a little faith.” But what does it mean? Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) says this: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Can’t argue with that. It’s in the Bible! But in … Continue reading God’s got this
Sifting for wisdom in the age of “experts”
Do you sometimes feel like we live in a time that is saturated with “experts”? There are food experts and weather experts and psychology experts and sports experts and economy experts. They share their wisdom on talk shows, books and blog posts. I think a lot of that is great. We can really benefit from … Continue reading Sifting for wisdom in the age of “experts”
Strike me blind in one eye!
Today I share a story I’ve adapted from William White. It’s about two business men. Their stores were across the road from one another and they had an incredible rivalry. When one made a big sale, he’d walk over to the other man’s store to boast about it. And the other did the same. This went … Continue reading Strike me blind in one eye!
Never underestimate your impact
Yesterday was the 3-year anniversary of the death of my dad, Eric. He was 64. As I look back, I think about the kind of dad he was. He was a great dad. But to be honest, he probably wouldn’t have won a dad-of-the-year award. He was more low-key than that. Plus, he wasn’t perfect. Just as … Continue reading Never underestimate your impact
Meet Adversity, your teacher and trainer
A bunch of people were put in a room and each given the same short story to read. It was about a young man who went through several difficult hardships. Then they were given a pencil and were invited to cross out anything in the story they thought would result in the young man having … Continue reading Meet Adversity, your teacher and trainer
Judging an idea on its abuse
There are a lot of good ideas out there. But a lot of these good ideas are told to us by flawed people or by flawed organizations. Let me tell you what I mean and then what it means for you. Some people discount your ideas simply because you’ve been inconsistent with how you live … Continue reading Judging an idea on its abuse
Drunk on novelty?
One of the invisible values of our society is novelty. That means we often prioritize and cherish ideas that are NEW. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of new ideas. The problem is when new ideas aren’t necessarily good ideas. When we’re star-struck with the “latest and greatest,” we get drunk on … Continue reading Drunk on novelty?
