Reading Reading to the mind is what exercise is to the body. (Richard Steele, 17th-18th century Irish writer) Reading seems to be an increasingly lost habit. It isn’t that people can’t read; it’s just that they don’t. With TV and radio news, social media, and a host...
Sharing Life Life can only be kept by giving it away. But then it will bloom. (Anne Rivers Siddons, late American novelist) It’s an extreme sacrifice when someone gives his or her life for another, whether in war or in a life-saving emergency. But sharing your life...
Choices When passions run high and prejudices ignore realities, current and future damage is almost beyond imagination. (Jesse Deloe, editor, writer) That is all too evident in a political environment preceding elections. Having strong feelings and opinions is...
Expectations The burden of expectations may be one of the greatest drawbacks to success. (Radio comment) It’s good to set goals and plan for high achievement; that way we know where we’re heading, and we can work hard to reach those goals. Sometimes, however,...
Fear II Fear is the darkroom where negatives develop. Faith is the greenhouse where life is birthed! (Jim Brown, pastor) People who live in fear, as Brown says, are prone to thinking negatively about life in general and their own plight specifically. Of course, there...
Fear I Fear does not stop death. It stops life. And worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes way today’s peace. (Source unknown) Fear and worry seem to be widespread today even among otherwise confident, assured people. Whether it’s the coronavirus,...
Labor II The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures. (Luc de Clapier, 18th century French writer and moralist) It takes a little growing-up to learn the truth of de Clapier’s comment. When things come easily, we don’t usually appreciate them as much as...
Labor I Work is no disgrace. The disgrace is idleness. (Greek proverb) On this annual Labor Day, we celebrate the workers of the past who have made continual improvements to the way we can live our personal and community lives today. Thanks, too, to the laborers who...
Patience Of all the life-lessons, the phrase, “Just be patient,” is among the most difficult for all human beings (Andy Simkins, minister). Why is it so difficult to be patient? Is it because our agenda is so important to us that we can’t adjust to someone else’s...
Discovery Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century American essayist) Poet Robert Frost put it this way, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that...
Devotion Discipline says, "I need to." Duty says, "I ought to." Devotion says, "I want to." (Adrian Rogers, Bible Teacher) The great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, put it this way, “People think it’s discipline. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great...
Keep On Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. (Babe Ruth, late baseball start) Babe Ruth held the record for having struck out more times than anyone else in his era. But he wasn’t noted for strike outs but for home runs—a record he held...