Worry Worry is assuming responsibility for things that are out of our control. That’s pretty much everything. (Charles Swindoll, author) Swindoll’s observation is not all that encouraging, is it? Do I have to live in an environment where “everything” is out of my...
Religion Either our religion will transform us, or we will transform our religion to suit our sympathies. (Michael Horton, syndicated broadcaster) For millennia men have been searching for God. They have made images from their imagination and, often, in their own...
Feelings That is the way we are made: we don’t reason, where we feel; we just feel (Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) “Follow your heart; tell him/her how you really feel” is an oft-repeated suggestion in a Hallmark movie. That’s not a new...
Confidence Arrogance is the evil twin of confidence. (Tom Avey, non-profit administrator) Avey illustrates his principle: “Confidence listens; arrogance doesn’t. Confidence likes and seeks counsel; arrogance doesn’t. Confidence can be reproved; arrogance cannot.”...
Dialogue Dialogue… affords the opportunities to choose the best of all available options. (Musa A. Mambula, Nigerian author & speaker) With the divisiveness that seems to have paralyzed our country, we would hope that some sort of effective dialogue could be...
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...