Character #2 People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. (Ralph Waldo Emerson 19th century American essayist) Emerson’s observation may be even more obvious today than three centuries ago. Extreme political...
Character #1 When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. (Billy Graham, late evangelist) Graham’s comment about wealth would likely be very disturbing to many people—especially the rich. The...
Be Glad We are too prone to engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand. (Charles Spurgeon, 19th century English preacher) Many people remember their difficulties and hold on to those memories for a long time. On the other hand, others of us...
What’s Best? Pursuing whatever we desire is not what is best for the world. (James Emory White, pastor) White goes on; “What is best for the world is when we submit our desires to what is best for the world. We’re often pretty selfish about the things we want. For our...
Identity Real and sustainable change in people’s lives begins with a change in the sense of their identity. (Rich Yauger, pastor) People tend to find their identity in a variety of ways. Seeing the eccentric dress and actions of fans at athletic events, you identify...
Moving On Don’t carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as steppingstones to rise above them. (Author unknown) What do we do with our mistakes? Deny or ignore them? Pretend they didn’t happen? Are our minds continually...
Heavenly Minded The love of heaven makes one heavenly. (William Shakespeare) Shakespeare’s comment in Hamlet, Act I, makes us aware that what we set our mind on will often determine our actions and reactions, even our feelings. Focusing on classical, jazz, or big band...
Personality One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is a new belief about himself or herself. (Sam Adeyemi, TV broadcaster) Personality determines both how one sees himself and how others see him as well. Some are shy and withdrawn, perhaps indicating an...
The “Little” Things The more you think about things, the bigger they become and still nothing is resolved. (www.streamingfaith.com) There’s a traffic jam on your way to the store that seems to go on forever. It’s one of those “little” annoyances in life that we...
Failure #2 Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something. (Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist) Mistakes aren’t final or fatal. For every successful event in a person’s life there have no doubt been numerous failures as we attempt something...
Failure #1 Everyone who succeeds has failures. Successful people make their failures work for them. (Kenneth J. Brown, author) Failure doesn’t have to be final. Your response to your errors is the key to whether you remain stuck in the failure or use it to move on....
Hypocrisy [A leader] "should be what he is calling others to be.” (John Piper, author) “Do as I say, not as I do” is the old saw that parents are often accused of. And it is true that a mom or dad may honestly have to acknowledge that their own behavior isn’t what...