Posts Tagged ‘Love’
I love my wife
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,…
Read MoreWithout hope nothing works
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…
Read MoreMy dog died today
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.…
Read MoreI’m especially fond of you!
“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…
Read MoreTalk is cheap
How do you show your love for somebody? That’s a fair question. Now I’m not just talking about your boyfriend or girlfriend per se. In fact, let me rephrase the question. How do you show your love to anybody? As I ponder the question, there are several things that come to mind. It’s not just…
Read MoreSign language
Nothing too profound today, but I write this blog today at an outdoor coffee shop. Lots of people deep in conversations. But one girl at a table got my attention. She was making a ZOOM call on her computer. The interesting thing was she was deaf and she was not talking but using sign language.…
Read MoreUnreturned love
I blog a lot about love. Love “makes the world go around,” right? Theologically, many believe that it is the primary attribute of God. Love is the “sriracha” sauce of healthy relationships. Hopefully, the love you demonstrate is reciprocal. But what if your love isn’t returned? When a parent ignores their own children. When a…
Read MoreGood question
Great quote from Malcolm Forbes, “One who never asks either knows everything or nothing.” It’s interesting to me that Jesus was asked a bunch of questions from a variety of people. “By what authority are you doing these things?” “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Who is my neighbor?” But when asked in Matthew…
Read MoreHurt by somebody
I’m upset. Things aren’t turning out the way I had hoped for. It’s thrown off my equilibrium. I was put on indefinite hold. As I’m writing this blog, I’m on the phone trying to reason with a computer. Can you relate? Of course, you can. This is the standard operating procedure in our world of…
Read MoreLoving the mundane
Love should be experienced. Let me explain. We can say we love a job. What does that mean? I believe it has to do with the joy you receive from the work you do as well as the passion you have for engaging in it. Without love, life is rather mundane. Jennifer Williamson once said,…
Read MoreNaive faith
I heard an amazing testimony of faith the other day. This extraordinary leader came to believe in Jesus when he was at his absolute lowest point in life. Addicted and broken, he entered into a real relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Things changed…some quickly…some not so much. He grew in his faith…
Read MoreServant leadership
There is a paradox found in the Bible regarding leadership. To be a good leader, you need to be a servant. That’s certainly counter-intuitive especially in the workplace culture of today. But look at what Mark records: And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers…
Read MoreChanged life
Love those who can’t love you back. I think that statement encapsulates the very heart of a changed life. There are many definitions and examples of how Jesus changes our life. A tax collector named Zacchaeus paid people back 4 times what he stole from them. God changed Rahab’s identity from a prostitute to a…
Read MoreLoving well
TIME magazine, February 23, 2015, makes an intriguing statement “research shows married couples enjoy greater longevity than singles.” That report makes “’til death do us part” even more of a commitment. Married couples have been found to have lower rates of substance abuse, lower blood pressure, and less depression than singles. Even though the study is a few…
Read MoreInsurance policy
Life insurance is a basic need. At least that what an op-ed in The Economic Times March 30, 2011, says. It’s the first step in financial planning. In a way, all investments are insurance against financial risk and all insurance is an investment for a better tomorrow, If you’re sitting in your easy chair any…
Read MoreMy lost phone
Here’s a question to ponder. “How do you deal with loss?” When you move into a new home, there is a common thread everyone experiences. “Where did I pack my ________? You find yourself tearing into every box until it’s found. You’re on a mission and nothing will satisfy you until you find what was…
Read MoreVulnerable love
I grew up in a great family, but my folks got divorced when I was in 4th grade. I, like many kids from broken homes, was caught in the middle of the mess. I remember my mom confiding in me as a 10-year-old and saying, “I’ll never be hurt again.” She was talking about relationships…
Read MoreGoose egg
First Corinthians 13 is a chapter in the New Testament that is not understood nearly as well as people think. It’s called the “Love Chapter” of the Bible. But here’s the deal, people usually read it out of context. Context is the most important tool to be used for understanding the scriptures. At least that’s…
Read MoreAll You Need is Love
At the height of “Beatlemania”, the Beatles contributed a new song to the first live global television link call “Our World.”. The song title was “All You Need is Love.” It was released in 1967. It has very simple lyrics and a simple message. Love. I don’t know about you, but simple messages are particularly…
Read MoreLove God
James 2:8 “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.” “Ama et quod vis fac” It’s Latin and it sounds cool. Better is what it means and who said it. In English, it’s “Love, and do what you want!” It was written by Aurelius…
Read MoreStupid motorist
It doesn’t rain a whole lot in Phoenix where I live. If we get 9 inches of rain in one year, that’s a wet year. There are some places in the U.S. that receive 9 inches of rain in just one day. So, we Phoenicians know what’s like to live in an arid and dry…
Read MoreFights
I got into a fight today. Fortunately, there wasn’t much blood. In fact, there wasn’t any. Nothing physical ever happened, but it was a fight for sure. It wasn’t loud, unruly, or disruptive, but it still a fight. No other people could see the fight, but it was a fight none the less. What was…
Read MorePoop explosions 😂
People do things for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they do it because they’re forced to…like me and taking out the garbage. That’s not high on my priority list. Some people are motivated out of fear. They are afraid of negative repercussions when they procrastinate. For example, I was driving around in my little red…
Read MoreA family dose of love
I’m sitting in my favorite coffee shop working on a project. They always have some background music playing. Today we’re listening to an “oldies” station. I find myself singing along (in my head thankfully). Then I hear, “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. I think it was released in 1979. Maybe years ago I didn’t…
Read More“You’re dead to me”
We all use phrases that are popular in our particular culture. Those phrases are often locked into a particular time frame. For example, in the 80’s, “gag me with a spoon” (an insulting response) or “having a cow” (being upset) were used by just about everyone. In the 90’s it was things like “talk to…
Read More“Do what you want?”
“Ama et quod vis fac” It’s Latin and it sounds cool. Better is what it means and who said it. In English, it’s “Love, and do what you want!” It was written by Aurelius Augustine (St. Augustine). A casual look at Augustine’s words sounds a lot like a “license.” License to do whatever you want…
Read MoreYou’re not alone!
Despair and depression do something to you. The way you think changes. There is a strong tendency to be more self-centered focusing on your issues solely. The nature of depression is interesting. Here’s a quick primer. According to Web MD, most people feel sad or depressed at times. It’s a normal reaction to loss or…
Read MoreRemember
The Super Bowl is this weekend. Like a lot of you, I enjoy watching the game. Secretly, I REALLY enjoy watching the Super Bowl commercials. They’re usually creative and funny. They’re so popular, that they “leak” them to the public before the big game. I happened to see Google’s commercial today. It’s a conversation of…
Read MoreA high calling
I’m not sure when it happened, but it is pretty much understood that pleasing someone else is a negative thing. You know, “doing the will” of another. US News recently said this about the practice. “It can erode your sense of integrity — and you can start feeling bad about yourself.” If your motivation for…
Read MoreWell-intentioned dragons
I just received one of “those” emails. Well-intentioned. Not caustic but very directive on what I should do in a particular situation. I want to be open to people speaking into my life. All of us are full of blind spots. We need people who can see what we don’t see. Even more, people who…
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