When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost” (John 6:12)
An interesting instruction from Jesus after the feeding of the 5,000. And certainly an object lesson. Jesus wanted his chosen Twelve to see something. To learn.
He returns to this theme a few verses later, when He says in verse 39, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
Into the lives of these twelve men, Jesus was building the quality of being a gatherer. And He was starting by showing them something He would actually do for them in the near future. When Jesus was arrested, they all scattered. They “forsook Him and fled.” Yet He gathered them up.
He also sent them to be gatherers of men. [click to continue…]
Recently I was on the campus of a school where I teach as an adjunct professor. I was walking through the student center and saw this – a massive list of that university’s graduates for this year.
It was really gratifying to see the names of people I recognized. To a random stranger these were just 470 some-odd names on a really big page. To me they were much more.
The List wasn’t able to capture the sleepless hours, the frustrations and insecurities, and the enormous energy invested. And that’s just the professors! (Just kidding.)
It couldn’t detail the hours of work, the sacrifices and support of families, or the poignant life stories behind each of those names. Behind every name is a story worth telling and a future worth finding. (That, friends, is why they call it “commencement” when people graduate.)
My joy was in knowing I had planted some things in some of those students and they had nourished it to a point of fruitfulness. And what was I doing when they were celebrating this big accomplishment?
Planting some more in a future crop of leaders. And grateful for the privilege.
There are lessons in The List. For you. For me… [click to continue…]
When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.
(Brennan Manning)
It’s time to face the facts.
Anybody ever say that to you?
Did they ever follow it with something that sounded like good news?
Where did reality get such a bum rap? I don’t mean Debbie-Downer-such-a-frowner stuff where you look for reasons to be miserable. I certainly don’t mean TV shows that pass for “reality.” I mean an honest assessment of the brutal facts that say, “Where you is is where you is.”
So… um… Where you is?
Do you realize that the only way you can ever experience meaningful change, positive results, breathtaking opportunities or fulfilled potential is first to enter the doorway of truth? [click to continue…]
A little parable, a little third-grade science…
Walking home from my in-laws night before last, between the row of houses that separate us… The houses were dark, but who needs a flashlight when we have our trusty smart phones?
Yet I remember thinking, “To be so dark, it sure is bright.”
Yeah, I know, but in my mind it made perfect sense.
I looked up to see that the moon in a very clear West Texas sky was exceptionally bright. I also noticed that the moon had a dancing partner – a star that appeared unusually close and bright. If that was Venus, the “evening star,” it appeared too close and too late. Certainly out of position. I had no idea what it was, and got distracted by four yapping, jumping fools when I opened the front door.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I discovered that what I was witnessing was a Jupiter moon – an unusual pass-by of the massive, gaseous planet in line with our moon – easily the brightest lights in the night sky. This convergence won’t happen again for another 13 years.
Turns out that the brightest stars in the galaxy that night weren’t stars at all. One was another planet, the other our moon. Both of these “lesser lights” lit up our night sky because of the light they reflect from our own sun.
There’s the science. Here’s the parable. [click to continue…]
Davidson High School, Mobile, Alabama. Circa 1974. My freshman year. I’m standing in the cafeteria line, waiting to decide whether I was going with the hamburger or whatever today’s chef’s choice was. It was there I spotted her, headed toward the faculty dining room. This was worth losing my spot in line for.
She was our school guidance counselor, and also an experienced English teacher. She was wise about things I was ignorant of.
She also happened to be my great aunt.
“Aunt Helen!” said I. “I wanted to ask your advice about something.”
“What’s that,” she replied.
“Well, see, I’m writing a book – a novel – and I wanted to get some advice from you about how to get it published.”
(I should pause here to interpret what “novel” meant. I probably had about five chapters, about five notebook pages hand-written each, about a tough-guy high school kid who winds up dying for the girl he loves, who happened to have the same name as the girl I was fixated on in the ninth grade. Anyway…)
Her advice was sage – way wiser than my 14 years. She didn’t write off my dreams and tell me that 14-year-olds don’t get published as novelists. She didn’t boggle my mind about query letters, agents or publishing houses either. She offered me words of encouraging truth. [click to continue…]
On Interstate 40 in New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Santa Rosa, you’ll find an exit at the 226 mile marker.
That’s about it.
A bridge and four exit and entrance lanes. That’s all.
There is no food, phone, gas or camping opportunity. No tourist traps so common on this major cross-country artery. Nothing.
Okay, but at least there’s a highway number or the name of some road, right? I mean, plenty of Interstate exits offer no services, but at least they name the road or the destination like Owassa, Hope Hull, or Tucumcari. What’s the name of this road?
There isn’t one.
Where does it lead?
Nowhere.
The sign simply says, “Exit 226.” [click to continue…]
Pssst.
Over here.
I have something you need to see.
I’m not showing it to anybody else yet because I wanted you to be the first to take advantage of it. But next week it goes public. And this won’t be a secret for very long. This is a once-in-a lifetime…
(wait for it…)
…yeah, that.
Opportunity. It’s an often-used, sometimes over-used concept. Americans throw it around as if we own the copyright to the term. You can see and hear it everywhere… [click to continue…]
The earliest known drawings of you-know-who. From the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco
Suppose you could travel back in time and witness some event as it happened. What would you like to see firsthand?
My family and I played that “what if” game on a trip a few years ago. There were the obvious answers, of course, – to see the Red Sea divided into two walls of water, the resurrection or ascension of Jesus, to hear Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.
But lately I’ve been working on another list, because it speaks not just to the past, but to my future and yours.
If I could be a fly on history’s wall, here are some things I’d like to see, in no certain order:
I’d love to see Walt Disney show his wife sketch of a cartoon mouse he drew on the train ride home – one he called “Mortimer.” Lillian had a better idea. “Call him Mickey,” she said.
I’d love to see Oprah Winfrey’s first screen test.
I’d love to hear Billy Graham the first time he ever stood to preach.
I’d love to see Norman Vincent Peale’s wife, Ruth, mail his book manuscript – still in the trash can – to yet another publisher because he forbid her to take it out of the trash. (The book was The Power of Positive Thinking. It sold 30 million copies.) [click to continue…]
Life is filled with plenty of things worth waiting for…
The answer to a prayer…
The fulfillment of a promise…
The completion of a process….
The realization of a dream…
These and many more are examples of the rewards of waiting for what is precious.
That said, there is one thing that isn’t worth the wait – now or ever. [click to continue…]
When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost” (John 6:12)
