Be the fly on the wall for this conversation…
It’s not that life here is so bad right now.
Okay.
It’s that life is so busy. Urgent all the time.
I can relate to that.
And not even that it’s urgent, but that I don’t feel as though I am responding well to the urgency I do have.
What do you mean?
Nothing ever gets completely done. Or so it feels. My weekly schedule is pretty busy as it is. Then factor in anything else that has been added to the schedule lately, and I’m having a hard time breathing.
I think I know what the problem is.
You do?
Yep. Your Urgency Response Index is low.
My what?
Your Urgency Response Index.
Sounds serious.
It can be. [click to continue…]
(Q – What is a good verse for staying faithful?
A – Here is a mashup of several…)
Help, Lord, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before My anointed one always.
The Lord my God is God; You are the faithful God, keeping Your covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love You and keep Your commands.
Love the Lord, all his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful,
but the proud He pays back in full.
You are the Rock, Your works are perfect,
and all Your ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on September 4, 2012
in 100 Words
Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished” (Luke 18:31).
God is a finisher.
He fulfills His intentions and finishes what He starts.
He’s a promise keeper.
Nobody has ever heard the Lord address a promise, however hopeful or dreadful, and say, “Aw, disregard that.” [click to continue…]
The one lasting promise that rewrote the rules,
Reinvented the contract, and changed my horizons
Was made with the faithfulness, love, and great power
That rolled back that tombstone and conquered the grave.
You said You’d be with me – that You’d never leave me,
Regardless of how well I held onto You.
Still Your “always” and “never” bring peace and contentment
And courage to love and declare You are true.
As long as You’re there, there’s an intimate boldness –
To fearlessly show you what’s real in my heart. [click to continue…]
When the burdens overwhelm me
And the floods begin to rise
When I see the circumstances
Through lonely, helpless eyes,
There’s a place to go for refuge
And a place to be restored.
And when the storm has passed away,
I’ll be stronger than before.
It’s a place called Higher Ground. David referred to it as a “rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1). “Take me there when my heart is overwhelmed,” he prayed.
Growing up on the Gulf Coast, it was fairly common to hear small craft advisories and warnings of approaching storms or hurricanes in which people in “low‑lying areas” are warned to move to higher ground. The danger for them is that the storm can literally overwhelm them.
In Psalm 61, David finds himself in a situation in which he is under such pressure of heart that he doesn’t think he can deal with it by himself. He’s in a “low-lying area” spiritually and circumstantially. Can you relate? [click to continue…]
What do you do when you come to the edge of something you want but can’t get there? How do you handle it when you have a clear sense of who you want to be, what you want to be able to do, or what you want to have… but only come away frustrated and defeated? What do you do when you want so badly to push past your limitations and weaknesses, but can’t ever seem to find a way?
You do the one thing you actually can do. And if you’re like most people, you probably won’t, because it sounds so simple.
Check out this snippet of conversation: [click to continue…]
It’s a busy place – a hubbub of activity as people move swiftly to their assigned places. Timing is critical. Everyone must be ready at the appropriate time, and yet few would dare to hasten the process. There is tension, mixed with great anticipation. But above all, there is joy.
Host of a strange mixture of humanity, this place. Highly-trained professionals and knowledgeable assistants mingle freely with ordinary folks. Anxious fathers and burdened mothers await an event that can change their lives forever. The brilliant and the simple, the wealthy and the poor, the veteran and the newcomer all watch with wonder as they witness the miracle of birth. No matter how many times they’ve seen it, each time it’s new and fresh. And there is great, great joy.
Make no mistake about it: this is a work place. In the midst of the video recording, the spectating, and the bystanders waiting in the wings, this is a place of… dare I say it?… labor. [click to continue…]
Know why some people want to be leaders? Because they want the power that comes with it.
Now I’m sure that if you’re a regular reader here, that would in no way describe you. But haven’t you ever known somebody who was super-nice, very inspirational or whatever… then they got the promotion or the big office and turned into Little Caesar?
Or did you ever know somebody who was an awesome “number two” – a great assistant whatever… but when they finally got their chance to pull the organization’s strings royally flopped because they still acted like a “number two?”
“Power corrupts,” Lord Acton observed. “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But here’s the rub: all real leaders (and others in leadership positions) have power. Does that mean we’re doomed to lives filled with moral cavities?
Yes. Unless you do something about it.
Oh… I have good news… You can do something about it. [click to continue…]
It’s a small, weary feeling you carry day and night
Against a vast expanse of time, trouble, and exhaustion.
You’re at the mercy of circumstances that somebody else controls.
You feel jerked and tossed back and forth like a rudderless boat.
Lost for direction or answers,
You’re still moving, but you don’t quite know where…
You’re still seeking,
But sometimes you forget what the questions were in the first place.
Yet something keeps you hanging on –
A voice that says, “I’m here, be strong,”
A prayer of faith, a nighttime song
Of hope that says, “This won’t be long.”
Someone keeps you hanging on. [click to continue…]
Heh heh heh… You’re gonna know I’m not smart enough to make this up…
They’re trailblazers, I tell ya’. They’re not about to let a coupla’ Johnny-Come-Lately’s (or Shepherd or Cason or Fischer-Come-Lately’s either) get the drop on them. No sir. They’re the first-born, by George, and they’re assuming their rightful place on the family frontier.
Um… except that maybe that family frontier may have a few unexpected twists and turns. [click to continue…]
