Affliction The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction. (C.H. Spurgeon, late British preacher) It’s only natural to avoid affliction and trials as much as possible. Yet, we often find ourselves in trying circumstances, not always of our own...
Friendship III I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine [and] encourage me to grow. (Cher, singer) Friends are not just “yes” men or women. Good friends speak truth into a situation even when it may hurt a bit. That’s one of the ways that we...
Friendship II The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple? (Eugene Kennedy, late psychologist and author) Is a protracted silence among friends difficult for you? Do...
Friendship I Friendship without self-interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life. (James Francis Byrnes, late Supreme Court Justice) Who are our real friends? Who enjoys and serves us without hidden agendas or designs to use us for their own advancement?...
Change II When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. (Inspiration Line) While change may often be difficult, there are times when we really wish we could bring about change in one circumstance or another. Sometimes it is...
Change I Change does not imply weakness as much as offer wisdom. (Tim Sprankle, pastor) Change is difficult even in the world of physics. Inertia, for example, is the rule that things in motion tend to stay in motion and things at rest tend to stay at rest. Many of us...
Leadership II If you get too far ahead of the army, your soldiers may mistake you for the enemy. (Warren Wiersbe, author) An ambitious leader may make a critical mistake by getting too far ahead of his followers. If they are not fully aware of the plans, they may lose...
Leadership I He who would lead, let him serve. (Chuck Colson & Jack Eckerd, authors) When we think of great leaders, we usually picture a general ahead of his troops or a great orator motivating his followers to grand pursuits. But the greatest leader in all of...
Gratitude III Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches. (Richelle E. Goodrich, author) It may seem a bit trite, but haven’t you met a few people who seem to light up the environment when they are around? When we have an attitude of gratitude, it...
Gratitude II The purest form of our thanksgiving is quietly seen in our thanks-living. (Choose Joy) Having an attitude of gratitude is dying in our modern culture where the art of thankfulness is being replaced with constant criticism, discontent, and entitled...
Gratitude I Gratitude [is] nearly the greatest of all human duties, (and) nearly the most difficult. (G. K. Chesterton, 20th century English writer) Why is gratitude so difficult? We begin teaching our children to say, “Please” and “Thank you” at the very earliest...
Learning Life is a series of lessons which must be lived to be understood. (Thomas Carlyle, 19th century British philosopher) As Carlyle suggests, lessons are best learned, not by rote and lecture, but by experience. The accumulation of valuable knowledge is the...