One of the first things you do when you walk into a room is turn the light on. That enables you to see everything, prevents falls, and helps you find your way. A light makes your environment feel more welcome. And it’s sure easier to find a misplaced item. However, here’s the question: if it’s easy to turn a light on in a room, why is it harder to turn the light on inside you?
Someone once told me being a follower of Jesus is exclusive of behaviors, and it’s only about God’s love and their heart. “Behaviorism” is a term that was used. I’ve prayerfully and extensively thought about this perspective. God has blessed this pensive exploration with some interesting ideas. It has to do with “why don’t I change?”
Today’s content is an inspiring, modern-day testimony of ordinary folks like you and me. It shows that responses to disappointments and unknowns in life can be a true story of faith. While struggling to find good answers, hoping for best outcomes, accepting developments that alter one’s path – faith still matters and steadies your steps.
(This is Part 7, the final article, in a series on faith. See below for the entire Faith Series articles/podcasts links.)
Have you watched paratroopers flinging themselves from the safety of an aircraft into the vast skies at a very unsafe height? To accomplish their mission, they just . . . JUMP! Paratroopers are equipped and trained to do something super scary and hard for most people. But for them, it’s as natural as walking. In the same way, living by faith can seem super scary and hard. It takes a daring leap. But with practice and determination, you can be just as equipped and trained as a paratrooper. So, are you ready for a faith jump?
(This is Part 2 in a series on faith. See below for the entire Faith Series articles/podcasts links.)
In the movie, “The Kid,” Bruce Willis plays Russ Duritz, a grown-up under stress. He regresses to a form of comfort when he was a kid – a sandwich. He begins to make one and repeatedly says – “There’s safety in a sandwich!” As he tries to convince himself in his self-dialogue, he grips his almost finished sandwich and flips it around expressively while talking. Alfalfa sprouts fly everywhere. Then lettuce flips out. It’s not much of a sandwich any more. Many people think there’s comfort in a sandwich.
When is the last time you considered God’s love for you? Do you ever feel distant from His love? Do you wish you could connect with His love in a more meaningful way? Well, God’s love for you is sincere. It’s powerful. Yes, God loves you, and that makes a huge difference in your daily living.
One of the things we’ve grown used to is the idea of “just add.” We like the idea that you can have something you just add a little something else to . . . and presto! You’ve got something of great value.
If you’ve ever experienced sadness in the holidays, you know how hard it is to jump into cheer and celebration when your heart is hurting. Sometimes sadness is because life is hard all year, filled with losses, bad news, declining health, broken relationships. At times you can’t even pinpoint why you feel sad. Melancholy lingers even when you are grateful for many blessings. But Christmas is still going to come. So if you are sad, how do you get through the holiday sadness?
As we enter the holiday seasons and the final portions of this year, most of us get pretty busy. Still, it’s essential to ask questions that matter most during these months of celebration. One question in particular often associated with Thanksgiving, affects life every day. What exactly is gratitude? Have you regularly asked yourself that question? I’ll throw in another question – “part B” to the first question. Are you “doing gratitude” each day?
If you were to stand in the middle of a busy intersection of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, you’d get significant impressions. Besides being concerned for your safety, you’d also notice it doesn’t always go well. The hair-raising screech of tires and squeal of brakes in a near miss of cross traffic. A motorcycle driver almost clips you with his daring zig-zag around another car. A pedestrian pushes through and almost knocks others over. Someone does lose grip and drops a package. Then there’s the motorist in a hurry and blazes right through a red light. You are almost run over as a bicycler whips by you. On top of all that, there’s the airplane overhead much too low for comfort. You haven’t even thought about a possible pick-pocket.
