A friend of mine told me about something he saw on a fridge magnet: “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple. But only God can count the apples in the seed.” The reason I share that is because it’s easy to get discouraged when you don’t see something important in your life bearing fruit. … Continue reading Only God can count the apples in the seed
hope
The Age of Melancholy
Psychologist Daniel Goleman says that we live in the Age of Melancholy. Here is how he describes it: “Each successive generation worldwide since the opening of the century has lived with a higher risk than their parents of suffering a major depression—not just sadness, but a paralyzing listlessness, dejection, and self-pity, and an overwhelming hopelessness—over … Continue reading The Age of Melancholy
Joy reigned supreme
Remember Easter? Of course you do. It was only a few days ago. But Monday came, and then Tuesday. Now you’re chugging through your routines like any other week. You remember that Easter happened. But you forget what happened at Easter. Viktor Frankl was a holocaust survivor. Here’s how he described learning about the end … Continue reading Joy reigned supreme
Everything good in life multiplied times God
I’ve been talking about heaven; it will be anything but boring. It will be far better than anything we can experience on this earth. That can give us great hope through whatever we’re dealing with because the best is always yet to come. Here’s something else about heaven. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) says that in God’s … Continue reading Everything good in life multiplied times God
The best is yet to come
People have a tonne of misconceptions about heaven. One is that it’s going to be boring. This sentiment is captured in a Far Side comic where some dude sits on a cloud, bored out of his skull, saying “wish I’d brought a magazine.” But in Philippians 1:23, the apostle Paul says: “My desire is to depart … Continue reading The best is yet to come
How you picture your future
There’s an old story about two men who were thrown into a dungeon. One man learned that his family was dead. But the other learned that his family was alive and waiting for him if and when he ever got out. The one who learned that his family was dead wasted away and died rather … Continue reading How you picture your future
The nightmare that isn’t a dream
Recently I spoke with Abby, a volunteer involved in the fight against human trafficking in the sex trade. [You can watch a video of our conversation here.] According to the International Labor Organization, there are over 40 million modern slaves, many of whom are sex slaves. That’s more people than live in my entire country. … Continue reading The nightmare that isn’t a dream
For those who are suffering
There is a lot of suffering in the world. There is personal anguish and anxiety. There is family and relationship stress. There is oppression and violence and war. None of this surprises me because we live in a broken world. But it bothers me. It bothers me because it’s not what God intended. So, in … Continue reading For those who are suffering
How to handcuff the present
Nostalgia is good... sometimes. But is there a point where glorifying those supposed golden yester-years actually holds you back?
The defining moment of your story?
Gerald Sittser was a professor at Whitworth University who was in a horrible car crash. He was hit by a drunk driver. Amazingly he walked out of the car with no major injuries. But he wasn’t the only one in his car. His mother was in the car, but didn’t walk out. She was killed. … Continue reading The defining moment of your story?
