It came with all the usual markings of a Christmas card – a small-sized envelope, personally addressed, arriving in early December. But inside was a surprise. All that was in the envelope was an ordinary, well-used playing card – the three of hearts. Across the front of the card, an anonymous friend had written, “Merry Christmas, from one soldier to another.” [click to continue…]
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I’ve done reunions badly, if at all. Never went to a high school reunion. And while I do have my share of sentimentality, somewhere in my brain is a switch that flips with life changes. “Move on,” it says, and typically I do.This year was different. Somehow in one of those once-in-a-lifetime periods of alignment, I had two reunions in exactly the same location within a week of each other. [click to continue…]
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Today and every day I will offer the most elegant gift another human can receive: the gift of encouragement. I will recognize that my gift is theirs to receive or to refuse, and that it comes with no expectations or demands.
Today and every day:
I will give the lonely a reason to believe in companionship again. And in so doing, I will banish loneliness from my own heart forever.
I will give the open-hearted a reason to grow – to expand their knowledge or their experience, their character or their self-confidence. And in so doing, I will discover paths of my own growth I never knew existed.
I will give the dreamer a reason to achieve – to accomplish a major step toward a goal or project. And in so doing, I will find myself closer to my own dreams than ever.
I will give the sojourner a reason to feel connected – to God, to self, to me. And in so doing, I will embark on my own wondrous journey of intimacy.
I will give my coworkers a reason to say, “Thank You,” but I will not demand that it be said. And in so doing, I will experience the exhilaration of true teamwork.
I will give the ordinary a reason to feel respected. And in so doing, I will possess greater respect from myself and from others.
I will give the solemn a reason to laugh or smile. And in so doing, I will be reminded again not to take myself too seriously.
I will give the decision-maker a reason to say, “Yes” with enthusiasm, or, “No” with courage. And in so doing I will be delivered from my own inaction.
I will give the weary a reason to go on, refusing to quit. And in so doing I will sow the seeds of my own prevailing strength.
I will give the apathetic a reason to be passionate about the things that really matter. And in so doing, I will face the trivial and meaningful in my own life.
I will give the cautious a reason to get out of that dull routine and live a little. And in so doing I will protect my own spirit from stagnation.
I will give the cynic a reason to believe the world is a beautiful place. And in so doing, I will rediscover for myself the splendor of the grand and the grace of the simple.
Most of all, I will recognize that this day is a gift to me. Today and every day I will take the time to encourage the encourager. I will recognize that my greatest gifts become available to others only when I offer them first to myself and to my God.
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Seth Godin shared this head-turning picture taken at a market in Greenwich Village. Here’s an idea sure to get somebody a promotion – Hanukkah ham! Seth’s comment: “Sometimes a little knowledge isn’t such a good thing.”
Where would we be without ideas? And where would the good ideas be without a few Hanukkah hams thrown in for good measure? Pets.com, New Coke, Volkswagon’s “Thing” and ketchup-flavored potato chips come to mind. Seemed like good ideas to somebody at the time.
Years ago Mad Magazine did a list of ad slogans that never quite made it to TV. Things like: [click to continue…]
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Take a look in the mirror. There you’ll see somebody you hope comes across as decent, caring, and human at least. Godly at best. Imagine, however, that you could look through the veil at the thoughts of people around you. Chances are, sometime over the last several weeks, you walked right past them. Absorbed in your own world, you dissed ‘em. And though you were clueless, they caught it.
You jerk. [click to continue…]
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On November 25, 1907, the Mobile Press Register printed the following report:
“Yesterday afternoon about 2 o’clock Jim Wilson , chauffeur for Mr. Louis Forcheimer , while driving the automobile of Mr. Forcheimer to the garage on St. Joseph street, passed the Bienville Hotel corner at a rate of speed which (he) himself said was not over ten miles an hour, when the speed limit is eight. He narrowly escaped running over a little son of Mr. George Hervey , who was crossing the street. … The complaint was made to Steward Jack Dair , who located (the driver), and Wilson was placed on the docket to answer the charge of furious driving.”
How’s that for road rage? Needless to say, we’ve changed the rules. It makes me wonder what “furious driving” will look like a hundred years from now:
• “Driver arrested for flying too low. Insists it was his clone.”
• “Wilson cited for hovering in a school zone.”
• “Forcheimer and Hervey purchase Bienville Hotel; Wilson appointed to oversee new helo-auto docking stations.”
• “Chauffer crashes car when Great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of George Hervey sends a holographic image into St. Joseph street. ‘Revenge at Last!,’ exclaims little Georgie.”
Regardless of how technology changes, human nature will still be, well, naturally human.
There will always be somebody testing the limits.
There will always be somebody moving at a different pace (either faster or slower) than you.
There will always be somebody putting themselves in danger without realizing it.
There will always be somebody who will want to cite you, charge you, humiliate you, or lock you up whenever you do something “furious.”
There will always be somebody to announce your issues to the world – if not the press, somebody in your network.
There will always be somebody saying, “It’s not my fault.”
And a hundred years (or days, or hours) later, there will be somebody – like me – who thinks the whole thing is really funny.
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Covenant Lakeside Hospital is under construction. Hey, it’s a hospital – nothing unusual about that. But down the hall and around the corner from what is normally the main entrance, there is an interesting sign. In big, bold, red letters on a yellow background, the Pastoral Care office trumpets, “TEMPORARY PRAYER ROOM.”
People pass this on stripped-down concrete floors, and the word “temporary” is routinely used with “under construction.” So nobody questions what the sign means. This is the place to go until the normal prayer room is available again.
But my twisted brain being what it is, when I saw it last week, it stuck me as kind of funny. [click to continue…]
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“I was saved at age 6, and Spirit-filled at age 9,” she said plaintively. “Now I don’t even know there is a God. How do I get my faith back?”
I blurted out an answer that distressed more than blessed. But I still think it’s true.
“You start by showing up.”
Human nature – at least my human nature – has a tendency to self-destruct in the areas where peace or healing or restoration or growth is concerned. How? By isolating. Withdrawing. Withholding or running away from the situation. The myth is that: [click to continue…]
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I need to get my head examined. (All right… Who said “amen!”?) More on that in a minute. First, a few random stories, all converging at the same point.
Last week I was in Dallas and had a strange and expensive experience. [click to continue…]
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Ray Stevens, of “Ahab the Arab” fame, once wrote a gospel song called “Have a Little Talk With Myself.”
A little private conversation
A little self examination
A little attitude correction
A little soul-searching inspection
Start heading in the right direction
Take a little walk – have a little talk with myself.
Can you relate? [click to continue…]
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