1 Timothy 4:8 says “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” When I came into a vital, personal relationship with Christ, I was heavily involved in collegiate track and field. That verse sounded like it was…
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I try to workout regularly. In fact, I haven’t missed a workout in 4 months. Don’t get too excited. My training times are pretty tame. But I’d like to address something that is truly a “game-changer” for me. I would guess that in the past four months there were many days where working out wasn’t…
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“Expect the unexpected.” On a surface level, this doesn’t sound like a leadership principle. It’s more of an observation. Life has a way of throwing you curveballs. Nobody “expects” to be in a car accident or to have a global pandemic foisted upon them. But it happens. So where does good leadership fit? Well, consider…
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There is an unseen factor that growing businesses and ministries share. The fact is most people ignore it. People will look at any business or a ministry in my world and say, “Why is it growing?” They attribute growth to this or that, but one of the factors that is most commonly overlooked is unity…particularly,…
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“Tomorrow’s unknown crisis is not something to avoid in fear. It requires our attention and deliberation. We just need to have the courage to face the truth of our future’s uncertainty. We just need to be prepared.” That was a quote from Christopher Manske, an author and investment guru. Good leadership requires good preparation. Even the…
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First impressions are lasting impressions. We understand this when we’re dating. But this principle applies throughout your lifetime. Years ago I took my staff to Disneyland. But, it wasn’t just to have a fun time. I wanted my team to deeply understand “customer service” in a ministry setting. By the way, how we treat people…
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I love my wife with all of my heart. She is the most important person in my life, and I cherish her and every moment I spend with her. Cherishing your spouse is a learned skill as well as a needed component of a successful marriage. Dictionary.com defines “cherish” as “to treasure, to care for,…
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My dad had Parkinson’s disease. You may know someone who has it. I’ll save the conversation about the condition for a later blog post. Something with the same name sounds like it might be related…but it’s not. It’s something called “Parkinson’s Law”. What is it? It’s the old adage that work expands to fill the…
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Great athletes don’t always make great coaches. It’s one thing to play a sport with excellence. It’s another thing to teach and show someone else how to do it. Wayne Gretzky, known as “The Great One” in hockey circles had major shortcomings as a head coach. Magic Johnson attempted coaching the L.A. Lakers, but was…
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It’s the middle of the night. You wake up from a dreadful dream. You shake it off, but you just can’t go back to sleep. It’s a common experience with kids, but how about the rest of us? Sometimes those moments in the “wee” hours leave us filled with fear. Thinking about our health, a…
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Without hope, nothing works, at least in the “long term.” Dale Carnegie once said,”Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” One of the primary, central themes of the Bible is hope. The need for hope…
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I read about something leaders call the “Fortune Cookie Effect”. I have never heard the phrase, but I sure have seen it in operation. So have you. Simply put, the “Fortune Cookie Effect” is a prediction that causes itself to become true. Some call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’re the one that makes it come…
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If you want to influence somebody, first you need to build a connection. Influence presupposes a link, a correlation, a rapport or a bond with the person. When you’re in sync with somebody, you have a better shot at leading.. The over-used word for this is “relationship.” I’m a bit reluctant to use it because…
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Is it OK to admit that I need glasses to read? I’ve been blessed to have 20-20 vision my whole life. Now I can’t read anything without help. I have to admit that it was pretty easy to take good vision for granted. Today however is a different story. As a matter of fact, you…
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My apologies to so many books on change and there on some good ones. “Switch” by Chip Heath is one. “Who Moved My Cheese” is a classic title. They’re both must reads for any leader, but I found that one of the fastest things you can change in any situation is you. This is a huge…
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Bait and Switch. You heard the phrase, but what does it mean? Webster defines the phrase as “the ploy of offering a person something desirable to gain favor (such as political support) then thwarting expectations with something less desirable.” When you’re told one thing, but are delivered something else, you feel “used” or worse –…
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My dog died today. There’s not a person in my world who can’t relate with me on some level. Why so much pain? My little dog wasn’t human, so what’s the deal? Why am I feeling such loss? The simple answer is grief. The Bible speaks often and significantly to the grief we all experience.…
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“Orange is the new black”. It’s the title of the 7 season TV series that began in 2013. Interesting title. Let me clarify. The ‘orange’ in the title refers to the color of correctional uniforms the female inmates wear. The ‘is the new black’ is a fashion reference, meaning the new hot thing. “60 is the…
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Helplessness has a few sides to it. There is a “cuteness” to it. We’ll say things like, “Oh look at that poor dog, he looks so helpless.” In those situations, you’re almost compelled to act to help out. There is the side of economic and social loss where someone loses their ability to survive and…
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When I was a kid, I would have loved participating in a chocolate cake-eating experiment, but there was no such thing. Believe me, I would have found it. However, there actually was a famous marshmallow-eating experiment conducted at Stanford University. Children were tested to see if they could resist eating a marshmallow. If they could…
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Things that surprise us are easier to remember. I was in high school at a Sadie Hawkins dance. Afterward, I took my date for a drive in my Mom’s car. When we stopped, we were leaning against the car. We both commented about how quiet the desert was that night. All of a sudden, above…
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A friend of mine died today. He was working on his roof and fell. It looked bad from the beginning, but he got better and better. But in the middle of his first day of rehabilitation, his heart stopped. His family was devastated. So was I. What do you say to his wife, the love…
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Friendship…how important is it? Does it fall into the “extra” category. Is it something like, “it’s nice when it happens, but it shouldn’t necessarily be pursued.” Or is it something that has profound implications for our lives? I believe it is the latter. Proverbs 13:20 says “Walk with the wise and become wise. For a companion of fools…
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I’m not feeling very good today. It’s just a cold. No big deal, but when you’re home and out of your regular routine it can be frustrating. There are so many things you’d like to do but you just don’t have the motivation. So what do you do? First, because of the recent pandemic, it’s…
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With every “smartphone” update, there are new features to try out. My latest update features a way to “focus” your attention on a specific project without distractions. This is really helpful for me given my propensity to wander. But, it reminded me of the importance of figuring out “what do I need to focus on?”…
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times, right? It probably was an encouragement to you when you were in grade school, but how about now? That phrase really doesn’t motivate me much. I’m guessing the same is true for you. But what…
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“I’m especially fond of you.” That’s a quote from the 2007 novel “The Shack” by William P. Young. The main character is Mackenzie Phillips and four years prior to the setting of the book, one of his children is abducted and killed while on a family camping trip. It turned him bitter at life and…
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In the Diary of Brooks Adams is an entry about a special day when he was eight years old. He wrote, “Went fishing with my father; the most glorious day of my life,” and through the next 40 years there were constant references to that day and the influence it had on his life. Brooks’…
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How do you love people in need? Whether you grew up going to Sunday School or not, you probably have heard of the phrase, “The Good Samaritan”. It refers to a parable told by Jesus Christ. The point of His story is a foundational example of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Passing on…
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Before entering many countries, you must have a visa. A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to the port of entry and authorizes the immigration inspector to grant admission into the country. An accurate visa is a pretty big deal, right? Well, on a recent trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, guess who put the wrong…
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