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…]
Hi. I’m James Harvey. I’m 63 years old and live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio called Worthington. There’s no real reason you should know me, unless you take my car payments down at the bank or perhaps were at my recent early retirement party at the local university, where I worked for 23 years.
But what I’m about to share with you could change all that. It certainly changed my life. And I think it can change yours.
More on that in a minute. First, let me give you a little of my “before” picture. It was only a couple of years ago, yet it seems like a lifetime. And my life was a mess.
- I was struggling to make ends meet financially. I would forget to pay bills when I had some money, or remember to pay them when I didn’t have enough.
- I found myself more and more isolated from friends and family. I did my duty when it came to get-togethers or holidays. But there wasn’t much joy in it.
- I was restless and bored at work. There was a time I loved my job, but I reached a point where I was desperate for something new.
- I started having health problems. I’ve always been a pretty healthy guy, but I started getting repeated episodes of bronchitis. My energy level dropped to “turtle-level.” I just assumed it was the natural result of growing older. Boy, was I wrong.
- People started asking me if I was depressed. I didn’t seem like myself, they said. My answer was always the same: “I’m fine!” But in my heart I knew I wasn’t.
Can you relate to any of that? I was “that guy” – the one who felt like he was pushing a boulder up a mountain. Only it felt as though somebody was on the other side, pushing back.
That’s when I rediscovered an ancient secret. [click to continue…]
Five days of creation. Five days to speak a universe and earth into being. But for the first five days, as God created the stars and planets, the sea and land, and its teeming life, there was no one to speak back.
True, the angels brought Him praise, and creation tacitly spoke of his glory. But a voice was missing. A voice of intimacy, of image reflected. A voice of will – of determined love. A voice of faith and surrendered strength.
Day six. The climax of it all came when God breathed into the man the breath of life, and he became a living soul.
Imagine the Father’s delight as He introduced Adam to a universe of discovery. To show him the bumblebee or the giraffe, the caterpillar or the butterfly, the lion and the lamb. To see the childlike wonder in the grown man’s eyes as he witnessed this living Artist’s canvas for the first time. [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.